Data provider Markit has bought BOAT, the MiFID-compliant trade reporting platform formed by a consortium of nine leading investment banks, from its founders for an undisclosed sum. The service will now be known as Markit BOAT.
The sale comes less than three months after the launch of the platform on 1 November to coincide with MiFID’s live date. Markit was appointed the business partner in BOAT in January 2007. As such, its job was to run all the platform’s business operations. Markit did not previously have an equity stake in BOAT.
“BOAT fits neatly with Markit’s goal to bring transparency to the OTC markets,” said Niall Cameron, executive vice president and head of equities and indices at Markit, in a statement. “As calls for greater transparency multiply, we see this acquisition as very timely. It will also reinforce Markit’s position in the equity markets and our footprint within the financial sector.”
Niki Beattie, managing director and head of EMEA market structure, Merrill Lynch, added: “BOAT is going from strength to strength and provides critical information on a growing share of the OTC markets. Markit, as the consortium’s business partner, is the ideal candidate to take ownership of BOAT.”
Markit says 24 of the world’s leading financial institutions now report their over-the-counter equity trades on BOAT. It adds that trades reported on the service account for around 25% of the entire European equity market.
BOAT’s founding banks are ABN Amro, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS. Before the sale to Markit, each of the nine of banks had equal shares in the platform.