Lots of Forex M&A in the news lately. After buying both FXDD’s and Alpari’s US operations, leading retail forex broker FXCM (NYSE:FXCM) has now closed on a deal to buy IBFX’s US and Australia clients. IBFX is a subsidiary of Japan’s Monex Group.
FXCM will be acquiring approximately $63 million in client equity and 13,000 accounts.
The deal seems to be centered on Asia, where most of the acquired accounts are from.
IBFX is (was, now) the fourth largest player in the US domestic retail FX sector, after FXCM, Oanda and Forex.com (Gain Capital).
FXCM and IBFX each put out press releases – FXCM’s can be seen here, and IBFX’s here. The text of FXCM’s press release is as follows:
FXCM to Acquire IBFX MT4 Retail Forex Accounts in the U.S. and Australia
NEW YORK & SYDNEY–(BUSINESS WIRE)– FXCM Inc. (NYSE:FXCM), a leading online provider of foreign exchange trading and related services worldwide, today announced that its subsidiary FXCM Holdings LLC, has signed a definitive agreement with IBFX, Inc. and IBFX Australia Pty Ltd to acquire their U.S. and Australian MetaTrader 4 (“MT4”) retail forex accounts (“IBFX MT4 Accounts”).
“FXCM welcomes the IBFX clients and our team will work hard to ensure a smooth transition,” said Drew Niv, CEO of FXCM. “We are dedicated to providing clients with a wealth of tools, resources and educational services along with our award winning customer service, superior technology, and transparent No Dealing Desk forex execution.”
FXCM will be acquiring approximately $63 million in client equity and 13,000 accounts.
“A majority of the clients being acquired are located in Asia and have traded through IBFX’s Australian regulated entity,” added Niv. “This acquisition would have added 5% to FXCM’s most recently disclosed client equity.”
The IBFX MT4 Accounts will be transferred to Forex Capital Markets LLC (“FXCM US”) or FXCM Australia Limited (“FXCM AU”) by the end of September. IBFX clients using the MT4 platform will be transitioned to the FXCM MT4 platform and should see minimal changes in platform functionality. FXCM’s upgraded MT4 platform integrates seamlessly with its No Dealing Desk forex execution.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed at this time.