04.12.2017

More Courters For KCG?

04.12.2017

KCG Holdings appears to be in play as The Financial Times reports that other companies have been approaching the firm after competitor Virtu Financial’s unsolicited bid for the electronic market-maker became public on March 15.

After KCG management had pushed back Virtu’s approximately $1.3 billion bid, it instructed is financial advisor Goldman Sachs to open up the bidding process, according to the report.

After completing its due diligence of KCG on Monday, Virtu decided not to alter its original bid for the company.

“Virtu could be eyeing significant cost saves in the combination as it is challenged for organic revenue growth amid a difficult volume and volatility backdrop,” wrote William Katz, a research analyst at Citi and author of the latest research alert on the potential deal.

Some in the industry view Virtu’s offer as a bid for KCG’s retail order flow business.

“This will be particularly important in Europe with MiFID II,” David Polen, global head of electronic execution at Fidessa, told Markets Media when Virtu’s bid became public. “Virtu is a dominant quoter on MTFs (multilateral trading facilities). They must be looking at bringing this in-house under the new MiFID II regime. Mixing in the KCG retail flow would make their SI offering very intriguing and leapfrog them in front of long-standing MTFs and exchanges.

However, when Katz questioned Virtu management regarding the firm’s interest in payment for order flow model during the broker’s 2015 fourth quarter earnings call, “management appeared unenthusiastic about the business model,” noted Katz.

If the deal proceeds, Citi expects that Virtu would finance the acquisition through approximately $180 million in cash, $565 million in long-term debt, and the rest via new equity issuance.

“Given the risk of additional equity issuance, we expect the stock to trade lower on the news.”

Since the news broke on March 15 through to finishing its due-diligence, Virtu Financial’s stock has dropped approximately 10.8%.

Pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and other institutional asset owners are sitting on vast troves of data -- but extracting value from that data is more challenging than ever.

#AssetOwners #DataQuality

Technology costs in asset management have grown disproportionately, but McKinsey research finds the increased spending hasn’t consistently translated into higher productivity.
#AI #Fiance

We're in the FINAL WEEK for the European Women in Finance Awards nominations – don't miss your chance to spotlight the incredible women driving change in finance!
#WomenInFinance #FinanceAwards #FinanceCommunity #EuropeanFinance @WomeninFinanceM

ICYMI: @marketsmedia sat down with EDXM CEO Tony Acuña-Rohter to discuss the launch of EDXM International’s perpetual futures platform in Singapore and what it means for institutional crypto trading.
Read the full interview: https://bit.ly/45xRUWh

Load More

Related articles

  1. Daily Email Feature

    Technology Modernization in Focus

    Dated legacy technology slows capital markets firms’ ability to innovate and respond to disruption.     

  2. Even just a few microseconds can impact execution quality.

  3. New FCA rules are meant to increase competition and lower barriers to entry.

  4. The service provides dedicated support and resources for US hedge funds.

  5. S3 Launches Canada Best-Execution Suite

    It is widely believed that PFOF is banned in Canada, but that is not exactly the case. 

We're Enhancing Your Experience with Smart Technology

We've updated our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy to introduce AI tools that will personalize your content, improve our market analysis, and deliver more relevant insights.These changes take effect on Aug 25, 2025.
Your data remains protected—we're simply using smart technology to serve you better. [Review Full Terms] | [Review Privacy Policy] By continuing to use our services after Aug 25, 2025, you agree to these updates.

Close the CTA