ICAP Acquires Abide Financial to Boost Global Regulatory Business

ICAP plc, a markets operator and provider of post trade risk mitigation and information services, announced today that it has acquired Abide Financial, a global regulatory reporting specialist.

The news comes a year after ICAP made an investment in the firm for an undisclosed sum, as reported by Finance Magnates.

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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.

Abide is a company with big potential and ambitions.

Michael Spencer, Group Chief Executive Officer at ICAP, commented: “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.”

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, the UK and the US.

Regulatory Reporting

Abide Financial is a provider of regulatory reporting technology which ensures 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.

Collin Coleman, CEO and founder of Abide Financial, added: “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.

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.

Mark Kelly will be speaking on “Regulation in FX ahead of MiFID II” at the Finance Magnates London Summit 14 - 15 November 2016. Kelly is a Director at Abide Financial which has helped dozens of financial services firms comply with the EMIR regulations since mandatory trade reporting began in February 2014.