OMX Signs Agreement with BIDS Trading to Host the BIDS Trading ATS
New York, NY – March 14, 2007 – BIDS Trading, L.P. (Block Interest Discovery Service), the newly formed alternative trading system (ATS) designed to increase competition and liquidity in the U.S. equity block trading market, announced today that they have signed an agreement with OMX, a leading technology expert in the exchange industry. OMX will provide hosting capabilities for the BIDS Trading platform.
With this partnership, BIDS Trading will leverage OMX’s specialized expertise in managing complex financial marketplaces, including a complete suite of system and network management tools that currently support more than 50,000 annual trading hours. When the BIDS Trading ATS launches in the spring of 2007, market participants will experience an efficient, seamless transaction process when trading large blocks of securities.
“Our partnership with OMX provides BIDS Trading with the financial technology platform necessary to offer open, efficient access to both the buy- and sell-side, previously not available on existing crossing networks,” said Timothy Mahoney, Chief Executive Officer of BIDS Trading. “Our users will benefit from exceptional financial technology, which will support the anonymous trading of large blocks, from execution straight through to settlement.”
“Our agreement with BIDS Trading reflects the rapidly changing dynamic of marketplaces in North America and Europe, where increasingly alternative trading systems and exchanges are both partners and competitors,” said Markus Gerdien, President Business Area Market Technology OMX. “As a provider of technology to over 60 exchanges in more than 50 countries, we understand the unique requirements of this industry, which is crucial in launching this new ATS.
“BIDS Trading is bringing to market a new solution in the rapidly expanding segment of equities block trading,” said Wayne Arden, Senior Vice President, OMX. “We look forward to working closely with BIDS Trading, using our financial industry expertise and specialized technology resources to help BIDS Trading in their goal to build the deepest liquidity pool possible for trading large blocks of equities.”
The BIDS Trading ATS will be accessible to both the buy-side and sell-side firms that want to trade large blocks through continuous order matching and trade negotiation. Use of the BIDS Trading ATS as a block trading service will not be exclusive or subject to volume commitment and each participant may continue to use any ATS, ECN or exchange service that supports the trading needs of its customer base.
About BIDS Trading, L.P.
BIDS Trading, L.P. is a registered broker-dealer and the operator of the BIDS Trading Alternative Trading System (ATS), which was designed to bring counterparties together to anonymously trade large blocks of shares. Developed by a consortium of leading financial services firms, the BIDS Trading ATS resolves the classic paradox of the block trader – the need to find legitimate trading counterparties without prematurely revealing trading intentions. BIDS Trading is a joint venture of: Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC), Citi (NYSE: C), Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS), Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB), The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Knight Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NITE), Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH), Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), and UBS (NYSE: UBS). The BIDS Trading ATS will be open to all qualifying broker-dealers and their institutional clients, subject to basic credit and regulatory requirements. For more information, visit www.bidstrading.com.
About OMX
OMX is a leading expert in the exchange industry. Through the Nordic Exchange, OMX offers access to approximately 80 percent of the Nordic and Baltic securities market. The Nordic Exchange is a term used for marketing purposes and is not a legal entity. It describes the common offering from the Helsinki Stock Exchange, Copenhagen Stock Exchange, Stockholm Stock Exchange, Iceland Stock Exchange, Tallinn Stock Exchange, Riga Stock Exchange and Vilnius Stock Exchange. OMX integrated technology solutions cross the transaction chain enabling efficient securities transactions for over 60 exchange organizations in more than 50 countries. OMX is a Nordic Large Cap company in the Financials sector on the OMX Nordic Exchange. For more information, please visit www.omxgroup.com.
BIDS Trading, L.P. (“BIDS Trading”) is a member of the FINRA and SIPC. BIDS Trading and the BIDS Trading mark are protected in the United States and in countries throughout the world.