ION Investment Group has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire US agency brokerage DASH Financial Technologies.
ION will acquire DASH Financial Technologies from private equity firm Flexpoint Ford which has owned the options technology and execution provider since 2018 when it acquired it from private equity firm GTCR in a management-led buyout.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and it remains subject to customary closing conditions.
“DASH’s solutions optimise and improve execution quality and transparency for both the buy-side and sell-side. DASH was built on the ethos of great technology, deep domain expertise and strong customer service,” said Andrea Pignataro, chief executive officer at ION. “DASH’s team is additive to the DNA of our ION Markets division, particularly with their domain expertise in options and customer-centric approach.”
ION is also currently in the process of acquiring fixed income and foreign exchange electronic trading solutions and system provider Broadway Technology as it looks to expand its technology offering across all asset classes.
ION took a controlling stake in Broadway in February last year, however, only received approval from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for the deal in November.
The UK watchdog launched an investigation into the deal following concerns that it would dampen competition in the electronic bond trading space and in response to these concerns ION agreed to sell off Broadway’s fixed income business.
Last month, DASH launched an upgraded liquidity solution within its listed options routing service, known as SENSOR. The alternative trading system was designed to meet certain liquidity sourcing challenges that have become inherent in the US listed options market.
“Under ION’s ownership, we will continue to invest in product innovation that drives value for our clients while also benefiting from ION’s global reach and established network of relationships,” said Peter Maragos co-founder at DASH, who will remain in his role as CEO.
“We are incredibly grateful for the contributions and support we received from Flexpoint Ford and are thrilled about what this new partnership allows us to do for our clients.”