IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), a derivatives exchange and infrastructure operator, has acquired Ballista Securities, a registered broker-dealer that offers an electronic options platform for the execution of block-sized and complex multi-leg options transactions.
Ballista will augment ICE’s existing initiatives in the options market, which began with YellowJacket’s entry into the off-exchange negotiated market last year.
YellowJacket, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICE acquired in 2008, is an options negotiation platform.
The Ballista system will be incorporated into the YellowJacket workflow, which should allow easier access to Ballista’s technology and provide customers with a platform that connects to an array of electronic systems and liquidity sources.
YellowJacket CEO Jacob Pechenik said, “As ICE continues to introduce efficiencies and additional tools for the negotiated options market, the acquisition and integration of Ballista with YellowJacket is an important step in serving these markets.”
Ballista will be operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of ICE. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Derivatives offerings have been cited as crucial to recently proposed exchange mergers, between Deutsche Börse/NYSE Euronext and the London Stock Exchange/TMX.