Citadel Securities announced on Thursday that it has reached a preliminary agreement to acquire IMC’s Designated Market Making (DMM) business on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) floor, thus significantly increasing its market share in the area.

According to Citadel Securities, it will become NYSE’s largest DMM both in terms of market capitalization and the number of securities after the completion of the deal.

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“We are thrilled to further extend our presence at the New York Stock Exchange,” Citadel Securities’ head of execution service, Joe Mecane said. “We look forward to building new relationships and bringing the benefits of our leading liquidity offering and exceptional client service to the additional issuers who will be joining us as a result of this transaction.”

The companies are now negotiating on the definitive agreement and other customary closing conditions and aiming to close the transaction by the end of Q4 2020.

Exit from the DMM Business

IMC gained the status of a DMM in 2014 after the acquisition of Goldman Sachs’ DMM business and since then significantly expanded its market-making business. 

The company particularly focuses on exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and options with its services and is the lead market maker for 150 ETFs and 500 options classes.

These services will align with Citadel Securities’ existing offerings of several products across fixed income, equities, derivatives, ETFs, and FX in more than 35 countries.

“The DMM business provided IMC with many benefits since we acquired it six years ago,” Sunny Khiani, managing director for IMC’s US operations, said. “The decision to sell our DMM business at this time is in line with IMC’s growth strategy, which focuses on our core strengths – market-making, advanced technology, and deep liquidity.”