LCH.Clearnet Acquires IDCG
- Reinforces LCH.Clearnet's commitment to the U.S. marketplace and provides enhanced range and flexibility of clearing solutions
- Expands LCH.Clearnet's horizontal clearing model and facilitates industry cross-margining initiative NASDAQ OMX receives newly-issued LCH.Clearnet ordinary shares as part of the transaction
- IDCG is renamed LCH.Clearnet (US) LLC
LCH.Clearnet Group Limited ("LCH.Clearnet" or "Group") today announces that it has acquired sole ownership of International Derivatives Clearing Group, LLC ("IDCG") from The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. ("NASDAQ OMX") and certain other investors.
The acquisition will enable LCH.Clearnet to operate a U.S. domiciled CCP, subject to regulatory approval, will further enhance the range and choice of its clearing solutions and will facilitate its cross-product margining initiative with NYPC, DTCC and NYSE Euronext. The transaction reinforces LCH.Clearnet's commitment to the U.S. marketplace, where it already operates IRS clearing through its market-leading SwapClear service.
Under the terms of the transaction, LCH.Clearnet issued to NASDAQ OMX ordinary shares of LCH.Clearnet valued at €19 per share resulting in NASDAQ OMX having a pro forma ownership of 3.7% in LCH.Clearnet. IDCG became a U.S. subsidiary of LCH.Clearnet and was renamed LCH.Clearnet (US) LLC. The planned U.S. domiciled operating entity will be named LCH.Clearnet LLC and is expected to launch in the fourth quarter 2012 subject to regulatory approvals. U.S. clients can continue to use LCH.Clearnet Limited for clearing as well as LCH.Clearnet LLC.
Commenting on the announcement,
Ian Axe, Chief Executive of LCH.Clearnet, said:
"This transaction is a strategic move to expand our US footprint and provide clients with additional flexibility and choice. It underscores our continued commitment to a horizontal clearing model for a global marketplace.
"We look forward to continuing to grow and develop our strategic relationship with NASDAQ OMX in the future."
Eric Noll, Executive Vice President of Transaction Services U.S. and U.K. at NASDAQ OMX, said:
"The deal demonstrates our support of open and horizontal models in a global financial ecosystem, where firms are looking for clearing solutions to alleviate their capital burden.
"We're thrilled to continue our work as a shareholder of LCH.Clearnet and as strategic partner in the European listed derivatives space."
Enquiries
LCH.Clearnet
Elaine Bartleet
+ 44 (0) 20 7392 3881
NASDAQ OMX
Robert Madden
+1 646 441 5045
J.P. Morgan
(Financial Advisers to LCH.Clearnet)
Jeremy Capstick
+44 (0) 20 7742 4000
Broadhaven
(Financial Advisors to NASDAQ OMX)
Gerard von Dohlen
+1 203 348 1200
Brunswick Group
(Communications Advisers to LCH.Clearnet)
Andrew Garfield +44 (0) 20 7404 5959
Liz Bruce +1 212 333 3810
About LCH.Clearnet
The LCH.Clearnet Group is the leading independent clearing house group, serving major international exchanges and platforms as well as a range of OTC markets. It clears a broad range of asset classes, including securities, exchange-traded derivatives, commodities, energy, freight, interest rate swaps, CDS and euro- and sterling-denominated bonds and repos, and works closely with market participants and exchanges to identify and develop clearing services for new asset classes. LCH.Clearnet has offices in New York, London, Paris and Amsterdam and is regulated or overseen by the national market regulator and/or central bank in each jurisdiction from which it operates. For more information about LCH.Clearnet, visit lchclearnet.com
About The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
The inventor of the electronic exchange, The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., fuels economies and provides transformative technologies for the entire lifecycle of a trade - from risk management to trade to surveillance to clearing. In the U.S. and Europe, we own and operate 24 markets, 3 clearinghouses and 5 central securities depositories supporting equities, options, fixed income, derivatives, commodities, futures and structured products. Able to process more than 1 million messages per second at sub-40 microsecond speeds with 99.999% uptime, our technology drives more than 70 marketplaces in 50 developed and emerging countries into the future, powering 1 in 10 of the world's securities transactions. Our award-winning data products and worldwide indexes are the benchmarks in the financial industry. Home to approximately 3,400 listed companies worth $6 trillion in market cap whose innovations shape our world, we give the ideas of tomorrow access to capital today. Welcome to where the world takes a big leap forward, daily. Welcome to the NASDAQ OMX Century. To learn more, visit www.nasdaqomx.com . Follow us on Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/NASDAQ ) and Twitter ( http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx ). (Symbol: NDAQ and member of S&P 500)
NASDAQ OMX Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the sale of IDCG and the future business relationship with LCH.Clearnet. We caution that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond NASDAQ OMX's control. These factors include, but are not limited to factors detailed in NASDAQ OMX's annual report on Form 10-K, and periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements.
This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or an invitation to purchase any securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, pursuant to the acquisition or otherwise. Any securities that may be offered in connection with the proposed transaction will not be and have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the U.S. absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.
