Swiss Exchange Buys UK’s Aquis in Biggest Acquisition Since 2020

(Bloomberg) — Switzerland’s exchange operator SIX Group AG agreed to buy Aquis Exchange Plc, a UK-based trading exchange and data provider, in a deal with an enterprise value of approximately £194 million ($250 million).

The offer is for 727 pence in cash per Aquis share, representing a 120% premium to Friday’s closing price. It has been unanimously recommend by Aquis directors, according to a statement on Monday. Aquis shares were trading at 705 pence as of 9:02 a.m. in London.

The deal would be the biggest for SIX since its acquisition of Bolsas y Mercados Espanoles SA, the operator of Spain’s stock exchange, for about €2.8 billion ($3 billion) in 2020. The company said the deal will allow it to scale its exchange business beyond Switzerland and Spain and add the UK firm’s technology and data products.

SIX Chief Executive Officer Jos Dijsselhof told Bloomberg earlier this year that the company expected to do a sizeable acquisition in the coming years. European exchanges are looking for ways to stay competitive amid relatively flat volumes for the past few years due to fragmentation of trading venues and liquidity dilution. 

The deal values Aquis at approximately £207 million using the treasury stock method for share options, and £225 million on a fully diluted basis, according to the statement.

Aquis, which was founded in 2012, operates a pan-European multilateral trading facility for cash equities which covers a collective 16 European markets. It operates the Aquis Stock Exchange in the UK, while other businesses include licensing of proprietary market infrastructure technologies and market data.

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