On September 14, Nasdaq, a global exchange giant, announced that it has made a public offer of US$ 190 million to all shareholders and warrant holders of a major Swedish exchange firm, Cinnober. According to the press release by Nasdaq, its acquisition of Cinnober would fortify its position as one of the leading global providers on market infrastructure technologies.
Adena Friedman, CEO of Nasdaq said: “The combined intellectual capital, technical competence, and capabilities of Cinnober and our Market Technology business will expand the breadth and depth of our fastest growing division at Nasdaq,”
“Not only have the global capital markets continued to evolve rapidly, but new marketplaces in various industries are also demanding market technology infrastructure that enables rapid growth and scale as well as access to tools to promote market integrity. This acquisition will enhance our ability to serve market infrastructure operators worldwide, and will accelerate our ability to expand into new growth segments.” Friedman added.
According to Cinnober co-founder Nils-Robert Persson, Cinnober has been “on an exciting journey and has become a leading supplier of financial technology providing services.
Persson also added: “I see the offer as the next step in Cinnober’s development as it will enable Cinnober and its highly talented employees to be even more successful in serving customers as well as expanding its technology and offering to even more customers and segments. I really believe in the strategic logic of combining Cinnober and Nasdaq’s Market Technology business also as it reinforces the strong technology foundation in Sweden. As the largest shareholder of Cinnober, I am supportive of the offer and intend to accept the offer.”
This merger of Cinnober and Nasdaq is predicted to yield attractive returns for their shareholders, given Cinnober’s large revenue base. Nasdaq is optimistic about the acquisition and is expecting to achieve the company’s 3 to 5-year ROIC target at 10 percent.
Furthermore, Nasdaq was said to fund this acquisition under current credit facilities and is committed to the present deployment priorities.
