ConvergEx adds RealTick to product portfolio

ConvergEx Group, an agency broker and technology provider, has agreed to purchase RealTick, a multi-broker, cross-asset provider of execution management systems, from UK bank Barclays.
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ConvergEx Group, an agency broker and technology provider, has agreed to purchase RealTick, a multi-broker, cross-asset provider of execution management systems, from UK bank Barclays.

The deal, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, will broaden ConvergEx's technology offering and allow it offer clients a broker-neutral execution platform. Financial terms of the deal were not made public.

“We chose to acquire RealTick because of its highly scalable technology, proven track record and talented and dedicated staff. The industry is moving rapidly towards consolidating execution management systems and we believe we can leverage ConvergEx's global footprint to expand RealTick's multi-broker network to make it the most comprehensive and global offering in the industry,” said Joseph Velli, chairman and chief executive officer of ConvergEx Group. “This deal is part of ConvergEx's long-standing strategy of growing its technology offering for asset managers and financial intermediaries by building or acquiring best-in-class tools that complement our existing product lines.”

“This transaction aligns us with a premier technology company with a global reach and a deep client base,” added Stuart Breslow, chief executive officer of RealTick. “Our clients have grown to expect RealTick's continual innovation of technologies that help them analyse, execute and evaluate performance. These clients will now benefit from the broad range of complementary capabilities that ConvergEx has to offer.”

Barclays inherited RealTick as part of its acquisition of the US businesses of Lehman Brothers following the investment bank's collapse in September 2008.

RealTick is the latest of a stream of acquisitions made by ConvergEx in the last 18 months.

In November 2009, the firm bought the US transaction services business of NYFIX, which included the Millennium dark pool, as well as prime brokerage NorthPoint Trading Partners.

ConvergEx also bought Cogent Consulting, a supplier of commission management solutions to institutional money managers and broker-dealers, at the beginning of October 2009.

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