Cboe Global Markets to Acquire Canadian ATS MATCHNow from Virtu Financial
- The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020

Chicago-based exchange holding company, Cboe Global Markets, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the MATCHNow Dark Pool Dark Pool Private exchanges that are not accessible by the investing public for trading securities are known as dark pools.Dark pools are named due to their lack of transparency and occasional predatory trading practices that are performed by high-frequency traders. These exchanges originally into existence towards the end of the 1980s as a way to better facilitate block trading performed by institutional investors. Why Use Dark Pools?Dark pools are used primarily by large-scale investors who do not seek Private exchanges that are not accessible by the investing public for trading securities are known as dark pools.Dark pools are named due to their lack of transparency and occasional predatory trading practices that are performed by high-frequency traders. These exchanges originally into existence towards the end of the 1980s as a way to better facilitate block trading performed by institutional investors. Why Use Dark Pools?Dark pools are used primarily by large-scale investors who do not seek Read this Term for Canadian equities from Virtu Financial.
The transaction, which Cboe plans to fund with cash on hand, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Cboe said that upon successful completion of this acquisition, it will gain a foothold in a key capital market new to the company, while expanding the geographic presence and diversifying the product capabilities of its North American equities business.
Establishing a presence in Canada
Ownership of MATCHNow is also expected to provide Cboe with a strategic pathway to build towards a comprehensive equities platform for the Canadian markets and potentially establish a significant presence in the region.
MATCHNow is Canada's largest broker-neutral dark pool, accounting for nearly 65 percent market share in total Canadian dark trading, or approximately 7 percent in total Canadian equities volume.
Canada is one of the world's leading equities markets, where Cboe sees further growth potential driven by off-exchange trading, the recent opening of the market to multi-venue competition and overall robust economic growth.
Cboe has a proven track record in integrating and growing acquisitions. The firm plans to invest in MATCHNow's growth, and deploy MATCHNow's innovative products, solutions and industry expertise to serve Canadian equity markets and investors. The transaction reflects Cboe's broader growth strategy, which includes targeting acquisitions that have the potential to accelerate its geographic and asset class presence, while deepening its customer reach.
An innovative equities platform
"MATCHNow offers an innovative equities platform, pioneering spirit and customer-first approach that are complementary with Cboe's equities business. This is a highly strategic acquisition that enables us to expand into a new key geography, and strengthens our position as a global leader in providing innovative solutions and technology to enhance our customers' trading experience. With our U.S. and European presence covering many of the world's largest equities marketplaces, we are excited to enter the Canadian market," Ed Tilly, chairman, president and CEO of Cboe Global Markets, said in a statement.
"Cboe will bring an innovative mindset, economies of scale, market expertise and client distribution that can further propel MATCHNow's growth and inject robust competition into the Canadian marketplace. The Cboe team has a history of developing equities markets and we look forward to enhancing our capabilities further by leveraging Cboe's core strengths as a leading global exchange operator," Bryan Blake, CEO of MATCHNow, noted.
Offering enhanced Execution Execution Execution is the process during which a client submits an order to the brokerage, which consequently executes it resulting in an open position in a given asset. The execution of the order occurs only when it is filled. There is typically a time delay between the placement of the order and the execution which is called latency.In the retail FX space, reliable brokers always strive to deliver best execution to their clients in order to maintain a solid business relationship with them. This is a co Execution is the process during which a client submits an order to the brokerage, which consequently executes it resulting in an open position in a given asset. The execution of the order occurs only when it is filled. There is typically a time delay between the placement of the order and the execution which is called latency.In the retail FX space, reliable brokers always strive to deliver best execution to their clients in order to maintain a solid business relationship with them. This is a co Read this Term for institutional, retail and proprietary order flow, MATCHNow combines frequent call matches and continuous execution opportunities in a fully confidential trading book.
It is also a top provider of Conditional Orders, a product that is seeing growing adoption in Canada and could become a meaningful contributor to MATCHNow's volume growth.
Chicago-based exchange holding company, Cboe Global Markets, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the MATCHNow Dark Pool Dark Pool Private exchanges that are not accessible by the investing public for trading securities are known as dark pools.Dark pools are named due to their lack of transparency and occasional predatory trading practices that are performed by high-frequency traders. These exchanges originally into existence towards the end of the 1980s as a way to better facilitate block trading performed by institutional investors. Why Use Dark Pools?Dark pools are used primarily by large-scale investors who do not seek Private exchanges that are not accessible by the investing public for trading securities are known as dark pools.Dark pools are named due to their lack of transparency and occasional predatory trading practices that are performed by high-frequency traders. These exchanges originally into existence towards the end of the 1980s as a way to better facilitate block trading performed by institutional investors. Why Use Dark Pools?Dark pools are used primarily by large-scale investors who do not seek Read this Term for Canadian equities from Virtu Financial.
The transaction, which Cboe plans to fund with cash on hand, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Cboe said that upon successful completion of this acquisition, it will gain a foothold in a key capital market new to the company, while expanding the geographic presence and diversifying the product capabilities of its North American equities business.
Establishing a presence in Canada
Ownership of MATCHNow is also expected to provide Cboe with a strategic pathway to build towards a comprehensive equities platform for the Canadian markets and potentially establish a significant presence in the region.
MATCHNow is Canada's largest broker-neutral dark pool, accounting for nearly 65 percent market share in total Canadian dark trading, or approximately 7 percent in total Canadian equities volume.
Canada is one of the world's leading equities markets, where Cboe sees further growth potential driven by off-exchange trading, the recent opening of the market to multi-venue competition and overall robust economic growth.
Cboe has a proven track record in integrating and growing acquisitions. The firm plans to invest in MATCHNow's growth, and deploy MATCHNow's innovative products, solutions and industry expertise to serve Canadian equity markets and investors. The transaction reflects Cboe's broader growth strategy, which includes targeting acquisitions that have the potential to accelerate its geographic and asset class presence, while deepening its customer reach.
An innovative equities platform
"MATCHNow offers an innovative equities platform, pioneering spirit and customer-first approach that are complementary with Cboe's equities business. This is a highly strategic acquisition that enables us to expand into a new key geography, and strengthens our position as a global leader in providing innovative solutions and technology to enhance our customers' trading experience. With our U.S. and European presence covering many of the world's largest equities marketplaces, we are excited to enter the Canadian market," Ed Tilly, chairman, president and CEO of Cboe Global Markets, said in a statement.
"Cboe will bring an innovative mindset, economies of scale, market expertise and client distribution that can further propel MATCHNow's growth and inject robust competition into the Canadian marketplace. The Cboe team has a history of developing equities markets and we look forward to enhancing our capabilities further by leveraging Cboe's core strengths as a leading global exchange operator," Bryan Blake, CEO of MATCHNow, noted.
Offering enhanced Execution Execution Execution is the process during which a client submits an order to the brokerage, which consequently executes it resulting in an open position in a given asset. The execution of the order occurs only when it is filled. There is typically a time delay between the placement of the order and the execution which is called latency.In the retail FX space, reliable brokers always strive to deliver best execution to their clients in order to maintain a solid business relationship with them. This is a co Execution is the process during which a client submits an order to the brokerage, which consequently executes it resulting in an open position in a given asset. The execution of the order occurs only when it is filled. There is typically a time delay between the placement of the order and the execution which is called latency.In the retail FX space, reliable brokers always strive to deliver best execution to their clients in order to maintain a solid business relationship with them. This is a co Read this Term for institutional, retail and proprietary order flow, MATCHNow combines frequent call matches and continuous execution opportunities in a fully confidential trading book.
It is also a top provider of Conditional Orders, a product that is seeing growing adoption in Canada and could become a meaningful contributor to MATCHNow's volume growth.