Fixed income trading platform MTS, owned by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), will have access to hundreds of US clients after agreeing to acquire US corporate bonds platform Bonds.com as it expands its electronic fixed income trading offering.
The agreement means MTS, which provides electronic trading in European bonds, will have access to Bonds.com’s 600-strong US buy- and sell-side client base to trade both US and European products as fixed income continues its transition toward greater electronic trading.
Mark Monohan, CEO of MTS Markets International, the US subsidiary of MTS that will formally acquire Bonds.com, told theTRADEnews.com the deal would give asset managers greater flexibility with access to US and European bonds.
“We’re trying to take advantage of the trend towards the electronification and globalisation of fixed income trading, whereby European traders want access to US fixed income products and US traders want to buy and sell European bonds,” Monahan said. “We will look to expand the product offering for US traders.”
Monahan said there were no current plans to transition the Bonds.com technology to the MTS platform, but that his firm would continue to invest in Bonds.com trading capabilities.
“This broadens LSEG’s electronic fixed income trading offering and makes inroads into this huge market. Our core focus now will be to leverage client relationships and match up client demand with our product offering,” Monahan said, adding that MTS would look at offering cost savings for buy-side firms connecting to both platforms.
George O’Krepkie, president of Bonds.com, said a plan to build an order management system (OMS) for the buy-side would go ahead and said there were plans to build an execution management system (EMS).
“We’re trying to make it easier for the customer to find and source liquidity – whether by API, OMS or by providing customers with an EMS to access the market, which many customers have asked for,” he said, speaking to theTRADEnews.com.
The deal is expected to close in Q2 once it has received regulatory and shareholder approval.