GETCO, the global market-making company, has announced the acquisition of Automat, a UK-based proprietary trading firm.
London-based Automat specialises in exchange-traded derivatives and spot foreign exchange markets. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The purchase builds on GETCO's expanding presence in Europe, where it is already a market maker on trading venues including the London Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext, Deutsche Börse, Borsa Italiana, Chi-X Europe and BATS Europe. GETCO also operates GETMatched in Europe and the US, which gives market participants the opportunity to cross their flow against the firm's market-making liquidity.
“Automat is well-respected both for its talented team of professionals, and its deep understanding of the financial markets,” commented Stephen Schuler, co-founder, GETCO. “We are enthusiastic about the prospect of leveraging their capabilities across our organisation as we expand our European market making and client services business.”
“We are very pleased to join GETCO, a leading market maker widely recognised for its technological innovation and risk management,” added John Williams, co-founder of Automat. “We look forward to contributing to GETCO's continued growth.”