ICAP acquires Abide Financial

ICAP plc (IAP.L), a leading markets operator and provider of post trade risk mitigation and information services, announces today that it has acquired Abide Financial (Abide), a market-leading global regulatory reporting specialist.

Abide will become a subsidiary of ICAP's Post Trade Risk and Information (PTRI) division. Collin Coleman, Abide's CEO, will report to Jenny Knott, CEO of PTRI. Following the acquisition, Abide will integrate its regulatory reporting hub and venues with Traiana's connectivity and ICAP's PTRI Approved Publication Arrangement (APA) reporting service providing PTRI's client base with a full spectrum of integrated reporting solutions for entities subject to regulatory regimes in Australia, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, UK and the US.

Abide Financial is a market leader in the provision of regulatory reporting technology, ensuring market participants are compliant with evolving reporting obligations. The company acts as a reporting hub for EMIR, Approved Reporting Mechanism for MiFID and a Regulatory Reporting Mechanism for REMIT. Abide is currently awaiting ESMA's approval to become a Trade Repository and is developing its MiFiD II offering.

Founded in the UK in 2011, Abide was created as a result of the founders' desire for a better quality of transaction reporting service than was available. The company has offices in London and Bristol, from where the company will continue to operate.

Please click here for a video on Abide Financial: http://www2.icap.com/video/AbideFinancial/

Michael Spencer, Group Chief Executive Officer, ICAP said: "Since Abide first came to our attention, we knew it was a unique business which fitted perfectly with our strategy to serve our clients' changing needs. They are one of a very small number of companies who offer holistic regulatory reporting services, which will become ever more critical as financial markets evolve. Abide is a company with big potential and ambitions, and by capitalising on ICAP's relationships, knowledge and resources, it can be propelled to the next level in its growth.This acquisition demonstrates how the team at Euclid works and how it will continue to operate as we transition to become NEX." 

Jenny Knott, CEO of PTRI, said: "The acquisition agreement with Abide is very exciting and enhances our PTRI offering to provide full global coverage of Dodd Frank, EMIR and MiFID II reporting. Increased scrutiny and regulation of the financial services industry has created significant opportunities for us at ICAP to help companies meet new regulatory demands that many do not want to carry out inhouse, primarily because of the cost and manpower involved. For many of our clients it is preferable to outsource their trade and transaction reporting requirements to ICAP and increasing numbers are doing exactly that. Traiana and IIS already offer routing of trades and will launch an APA, and so our acquiring Abide is a natural extension of this to ensure a comprehensive seamless service. I am delighted that Abide is now part of the PTRI stable of businesses and I'm excited about what they can and will achieve for our clients."

Collin Coleman, CEO and Founder of Abide Financial, said: "The agreement with ICAP means that we can progress our global expansion more quickly, more successfully and more effectively. We were a good fit from the outset - ICAP is a very entrepreneurial company that knows how to nurture talent and grow businesses. This agreement means that we will have the resources to cement our position as the partner of choice for market participants' regulatory reporting needs globally."

The transaction has been led by Euclid Opportunities, ICAP's investment arm focused on emerging fintech companies. Euclid made a strategic investment in Abide in July 2015. Through Euclid, ICAP has made a number of financial technology investments identifying companies with platforms, business models and technologies that have the potential to drive efficiency, transparency and scale across the post trade lifecycle. The portfolio includes: Duco, a data control platform; OpenGamma, an award winning risk analytics firm; AcadiaSoft, an industry collaboration to automate collateral management; Cloud9 Technologies, a cloud-based communication provider; and Digital Asset Holdings, a developer of Distributed Ledger Technology. In April 2016, ICAP acquired ENSO Financial Analytics, a leading provider of a data analytics platform for hedge funds and prime brokers, following previous investments by Euclid.

About ICAP 

ICAP is a leading markets operator and provider of post trade risk mitigation and information services. The Group matches buyers and sellers in the wholesale markets in interest rates, credit, commodities, FX, emerging markets and equity derivatives through voice and electronic networks. Through its post trade risk mitigation and information services ICAP helps customers manage and mitigate risks in their portfolios. For more information, go to www.icap.com

ICAP announced in November 2015 that it intends to sell its global hybrid voice broking and associated information business to Tullett Prebon, including ICAP's associated technology and broking platforms (including iSwap and Fusion) and certain of ICAP's joint ventures and associate companies ("IGBB"). On completion of the transaction with Tullett Prebon, the ICAP brand will be transferred to Tullett Prebon and the remaining 'NewCo' business comprising of Post Trade Risk and Informations services and Electronic Markets will be renamed NEX Group plc.

NEX Group plc will be headquartered in London and will employ 1,600 people in offices worldwide.

About Abide Financial 

The market leader in global regulatory reporting solutions, Abide Financial manages transaction reporting for financial and non-financial counterparties in UK, Europe and beyond to help market participants meet MiFID, EMIR, REMIT and international reporting obligations. Since 2010, the firm has delivered proven technology and consultancy solutions to banks, brokerage houses, asset managers, retail trading execution platforms and hedge funds. Abide Financial acts as a single regulatory reporting service provider for clients with transaction reporting needs across all European regulatory regimes, including REMIT, as well as upcoming regimes such as ASIC (Australia) and MAS (Singapore). For more information on Abide Financial please visit www.abide-financial.com.