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Transactions

October 2013
has sold
Chicago, Illinois
to
Stockholm, Sweden


Background

MarketAxess (NASDAQ:MKTX) operates a leading electronic trading platform for credit market participants. In 2008 they acquired Greenline Financial Technologies (“Greenline”). Founded in 2000 by a team of former CME employees and based in Chicago, Greenline specializes in the high-end development of customized integration, testing and management solutions designed to provide greater efficiencies for the electronic trading of all asset classes. Greenline operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of MarketAxess.

Five years later, after a strategic review MarketAxess concluded that Greenline would be better served if it were part of a company with an aligned focus on electronic trading connectivity. To that end, MarketAxess retained Marlin & Associates (“M&A”) for guidance as they considered a variety of strategic options.



Overview

M&A organized a dedicated team to work closely with Management to identify strengths and weaknesses of Greenline and to develop materials that would seamlessly communicate Greenline’s story, growth potential, strategy execution plan and financial projection. Understanding the financial technology space well, M&A and Management identified a number of strategic parties that we believed could be interested in partnering with Greenline. M&A leveraged its deep domain expertise and significant knowledge of the global capital markets technology universe to help manage a process that involved parties from North America, Europe and Asia. M&A helped Management frame Greenline’s value proposition and growth potential and then spent the time with these parties to ensure that they fully understood the story.

After a review of its options, MarketAxess agreed to negotiate with CameronTec, a Sweden-based provider of connectivity technology and trading infrastructure. M&A assisted MarketAxess throughout the due diligence process and helped in the negotiations with a highly competitive acquirer. CameronTec’sleading position with FIX trading tools fit well with the FIX connectivity technology of Greenline to create a compelling end-to-end trading and services platform for the global financial industry. Both sides came to believe that combining the solutions offered by the two firms should enable financial institutions to work with a single provider for a full spectrum of trading connectivity solutions.

M&A Role

Marlin & Associates managed the process, assisted in the negotiations, and acted as the exclusive strategic and financial advisor to MarketAxess in the sale of Greenline Financial Technologies.

Press

CameronTec Agrees to Buy Greenline

October 01, 2013

Combination Creates Industry’s Most Powerful Trading and Connectivity Technology Offering

  • CameronTec and Greenline sign definitive acquisition agreement
  • Consolidation highly complementary to CameronTec’s existing business
  • Merger extends CameronTec’s capabilities creating the most comprehensive end-to-end trading technology and services platform
  • FIX users to benefit from combined products and professional services from world leader
  • MarketAxess to continue as Greenline customer

CHICAGO & LONDON: CameronTec, the global standard in connectivity technology and trading infrastructure today announced a definitive agreement to acquire US-based Greenline Financial Technologies, a leading provider of FIX and electronic trading technology solutions and services and wholly-owned subsidiary of MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: MKTX). The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Since 2000, Chicago-based Greenline Financial Technologies has specialized in the high end development of customized integration, testing and management solutions for Financial Information Exchange ("FIX")-related products and services, designed to provide greater efficiencies for the electronic trading of all asset classes and other exchange-based products. Its suite of industry-leading FIX testing and certification solutions is complemented by its globally renowned professional services business.

CameronTec CEO Anders Henriksson says the merger with Greenline creates a clear category leader in the FIX world and signals a new era:

“Today’s announcement is great news for the global electronic trading community. Greenline’s superior FIX operational technology and services coupled with CameronTec’s leading connectivity technology and trading tools creates a compelling end-to-end trading and services platform for the global financial industry. For existing FIX customers as well as the broader financial services community, this is a particularly positive development as it delivers extended value from integrated products and signals a sharper customer focus, stronger development investment and even more powerful deployments. Greenline's CEO Josh Tolman will make a welcome addition to our executive management team.”

“Recently Greenline has been pushing into several protocols beyond FIX which is directionally aligned with CameronTec’s technology strategy and capabilities,” says Max Colas, Chief Strategy Officer for CameronTec. “The combination of Greenline’s investment with our latest Catalys messaging platform development will accelerate the delivery of a unique and powerful platform for processing, testing and managing all converging financial flows; from front-office to back-office, across all asset classes, globally.”

The Greenline acquisition includes a substantial line of products covering its flagship product suite, VeriFIX®, CertiFIX®, MagniFIX®, MetriFIX® and Exchange Central, for delivering end-to-end global connectivity solutions for any electronic trading environment using or migrating to FIX and proprietary protocols. The agreement also sees CameronTec assume Greenline’s product and professional services agreements that cover customers in the US, EMEA and Asia Pacific.

Greenline has employees located in Chicago, New York, Boston, London, and Hong Kong.

CameronTec recently announced the acquisition of London-based E2E infotech, the professional services and integration solutions provider for electronic trading and capital markets.

CameronTec with Greenline will be exhibiting at the upcoming FIX Australia Conference in Sydney on October 16.

Acquisition Highlights:

  • Enhanced strategic position with addition of superior suite of FIX-related products and services.
  • Highly complementary to CameronTec’s existing technology and professional services business in terms of client base expansion, increased wallet and market share associated with a broader technology and services offering.
  • Opportunity to deepen existing and build new customers relationships.
  • Expansion and diversification of connectivity solutions.
  • About Greenline Financial Technologies

Marlin & Associates acted as exclusive financial advisor to MarketAxess.

Greenline provides superior FIX and proprietary protocol and electronic trading technology solutions and services across all asset classes for leading global financial institutions. Greenline’s flagship product suite, VeriFIX®, CertiFIX®, MagniFIX®, MetriFIX® and Exchange Central, delivers end-to-end global connectivity solutions for any electronic trading environment using or migrating to FIX and proprietary protocols. In addition, its premier Professional Services consultancy can evaluate and improve clients’ business strategy and trading technology operations, leveraging its expertise across all connectivity and messaging protocols.

www.greenlinetech.com

About CameronTec

CameronTec is the global industry standard in connectivity technology and trading infrastructure that today powers the largest user base among financial institutions. Uniquely positioned as a software and service provider delivering enterprise, hosted and managed platforms, our dedicated professional services team ensures optimal integration and deployment performance.

CameronTec’s solutions are tested and trusted by the world’s best firms in over 50 countries, on all five continents, that represent the broadest cross section of tier 1 and 2 investment banks, brokers, fund managers, exchanges, regulators, and the ISV community.

Catalys is our flagship offering, designed to provide a superior and resilient integrated platform for operations, infrastructure and trading management — covering all aspects of the deal life-cycle: pre-trade, trade and post-trade. It is underpinned by our market-leading connectivity technology, and engineered on the widely acknowledged standard in FIX engines, CameronFIX. This covers customer-facing, system-facing, and market-facing connectivity.

Our products and services are exceptionally supported by regionally focused teams in London, Stockholm, Paris, Frankfurt, New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, Sydney and Mumbai.

CameronTec is owned by Nordic Capital Fund VII.

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