Frankfurt headquartered 360 Treasury Systems AG (360T AG), the multi-bank, multi-asset trading platform for OTC financial instruments in particular FX as reported from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) could fetch more than $675 million (€600M) if the company were to find the highest bidder.
360T also maintains subsidiaries in: New York, 360 Trading Networks Inc (360T Inc), Singapore, 360T Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Dubai, 360 Trading Networks LLC and also in India, ThreeSixty Trading Networks (India) Pvt Ltd. So the company is truly global in nature with operations in key financial centers around the world. 360T looks like a nice “turn-key” revenue stream for any likely suitor as long as managed properly after the sale. So who is 360T “exploring” a potential sale with?
The WSJ article revealed that the privately held company has attracted interest from a number of global exchange and financial data firms, the sources close to the matter said. It should be noted that this is all speculation and rumors, so its possible there will be no deal for the company anytime soon.
This year the industry already witnessed one big sale of an FX electronic platform when KCG unloaded Hotspot to BATS Global Markets for $365M in cash. We could see more market consolidation in the electronic FX platform sector if 360T is sold to one of the dominant players in the market. Or will a company not yet with a Forex footprint (like BATS) step up to the plate if indeed these rumors are true?
“Currency trading is a sought-after business for global exchanges that want to diversify beyond their traditional focus on stocks, bonds and commodities.” – Wall Street Journal
360T, which facilitates trades straight thru to market participants rather than making any of its own is likely to remain viable as the wider industry doldrums of record low volatility and low volumes of last summer seem to be far behind us. We have seen since the start of 2015 a new elevated average volume environment with central banks around the world ready to slowly normalize interest rate policies among other macroeconomic shifts which effect currency rates.
What do you think of these rumors and which company do you think will make a bid for 360T? Let us know in the comment section below.
To check out the WSJ article, click here.