Knight Capital Forex ECN unit sees volumes rise 14% in May to $33.7 billion per day.

Completing a mixed month volume-wise for the Forex ECNs, Knight Capital (NYSE: KCG) Forex ECN unit Hotspot FX reported that its May volumes rose nicely to average $33.7 billion daily — up 14% from April and up 19% from May last year — Hotspot’s best result since 2011.

Hotspot FX May volumes were indeed not far off from its best-ever result of $34.2 billion, set in October 2011. And they compare nicely with more run-of-the-mill May volumes put up by rivals ICAP EBS (down 2%), Thomson Reuters (up 8%), and FXall (flat for the month).

Hotspot FX’s parent Knight Capital (NYSE:KCG) is nearing the closing of its acquisition by rival Getco. We expect Getco to look to sell Hotspot FX soon after the deal closes, with estimates of Hotspot FX’s valuation in the $150-200 million range. As basically the final hurdle to approving the merger, both Knight Capital and Getco are holding special shareholder / unitholder meetings on Tuesday, June 25. Completion of the transaction is subject to Knight stockholder and Getco unitholder approval at those June 25 meetings, as well as listing of the shares on the NYSE, additional regulatory approvals, and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. 

For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.