NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: MKTX), the operator of a leading electronic trading platform for fixed-income securities, and the provider of market data and post-trade services for the global fixed-income markets, has entered into an agreement to acquire LiquidityEdge, a leading provider of an electronic U.S. Treasuries marketplace. The acquisition is valued at $150 million, including $100 million in cash and $50 million in MKTX stock, subject to customary purchase price adjustments.

Established in 2015, LiquidityEdge offers a bespoke trading ecosystem to connect a community of dealers, market-makers and institutional investors to trade in the $500 billion average-daily-volume U.S. Treasury market. LiquidityEdge’s innovative custom liquidity pools, as well as direct dealer streaming capabilities, for on- and off-the-run U.S. Treasuries has been quickly adopted by a diverse client base. In conjunction with MarketAxess’ global trading network of over 1,600 institutional participants, this acquisition creates a compelling combination for global fixed income market participants.

Chris Concannon, President and Chief Operating Officer of MarketAxess, commented, “Through the acquisition of LiquidityEdge, we are bringing rates trading capabilities to MarketAxess to complement our leading position of electronic trading in the global credit markets. This will not only enhance the trading experience for our dealer and institutional investor clients, but also offer a truly innovative solution for dealers to stream U.S. Treasury quotes to a tailored audience.”

Nichola Hunter, Chief Executive Officer of LiquidityEdge, added, “Across a few short years, LiquidityEdge has grown to become one of the leading marketplaces to trade U.S. Treasuries. Offering an alternative to incumbent trading protocols, LiquidityEdge continues to record daily highs in excess of $25 billion. That tremendous growth is made possible by our cutting-edge approach to liquidity management and superior technology solutions, something also shared by MarketAxess. MarketAxess has been a true pioneer in driving the evolution of the fixed income markets, and we’re thrilled that LiquidityEdge will add to that story.”

MarketAxess also announces the expansion of hedging capabilities to include Treasury hedging for MarketAxess’ credit products, utilizing LiquidityEdge’s technology infrastructure and robust liquidity network. Currently in development and targeted to launch the initial phase in the fourth quarter of 2019, this new functionality will enhance a client’s ability to simultaneously hedge a credit spread transaction within the same workflow, maximizing efficiency and reducing rate movement risk. The partnership with LiquidityEdge will add Treasury net hedging capabilities for aggregated sets of corporate bond trades.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals.

About MarketAxess

MarketAxess operates a leading, institutional electronic trading platform delivering expanded liquidity opportunities, improved execution quality and significant cost savings across global fixed-income markets. A record $1.7 trillion of U.S. investment-grade bonds, U.S. high yield bonds, emerging market debt, Eurobonds and other fixed income securities traded through MarketAxess’ patented trading technology in 2018. The global community of 1,600 firms trading on MarketAxess today include the world’s leading asset managers and institutional broker-dealers. MarketAxess’ award-winning Open Trading™ marketplace is regarded as the preferred all-to-all trading solution in the global credit markets, creating a unique liquidity pool for a broad range of credit market participants. Drawing on its deep data and analytical resources, MarketAxess enables automated trading solutions and, through its Trax^® division, provides a range of pre- and post-trade services and products.

MarketAxess is headquartered in New York and has offices in London, Amsterdam, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, São Paulo, Hong Kong and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.marketaxess.com.

About LiquidityEdge
LiquidityEdge offers an alternative trading model for the U.S. Treasury market with a choice of relationship-based execution models that deliver direct and order book trading access to a broad range of market participants.

Founded in 2015 by David E. Rutter, LiquidityEdge is an SEC registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA. Clients can choose between one-to-one or many-to-many trading models, facilitating a combination of anonymous and disclosed streaming of executable prices, creating a personalized order book for each participant.

LiquidityEdge is headquartered in New York and has an office in London. For more information, please visit: www.liquidityedge.trade