SmartPool, the non-displayed trading facility operated by exchange group NYSE Euronext, has added two large brokers as members of its platform and is proposing to integrate with NYFIX’s Euro Millennium dark pool, according to sources familiar with the situation.
NYSE Technologies, the trading technology division of NYSE Euronext, bought US trading technology provider NYFIX for its FIX software business and NYFIX Marketplace trading connectivity network in August, leaving NYFIX’s Transaction Services businesses – which includes NYFIX’s two US and European dark pools – potentially up for sale.
Agency broker and financial technology firm ConvergEx announced the acquisition of the NYFIX’s US Transaction Services yesterday. Smartpool is believed to be keen to absorb Euro Millennium and sources close to NYSE Euronext said regulatory and legal hurdles remained to be negotiated.
Separately, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, French agency broker CA Cheuvreux and an unnamed company have signed up to start trading on SmartPool. The latest addition takes the number of members on the platform to 16, with another four expected in the coming weeks.
“We are delighted to welcome BofA Merrill Lynch and CA Cheuvreux to our ever expanding trading community,” said SmartPool CEO Lee Hodgkinson, in a statement. “We are looking forward to bringing these customers online in the coming months.
Today’s announcement is further proof that our superior economies of scale are attracting the largest and most diverse dark pool trading community in Europe.”
“The use of dark liquidity is a key facility in supporting our clients’ requirements for market leading execution,” added Yvonne Hansmann, head of EMEA execution sales, BofA Merrill Lynch. “Linking to SmartPool is therefore an important complement to our overall execution strategy as they further develop their platform and in-flows.”
SmartPool was launched last February with the backing of J.P. Morgan, HSBC and BNP Paribas. It also counts Instinet, Credit Suisse, UBS and RBS among its current member base. The trading platform is set to join NYSE Euronext’s Universal Trading Platform, the exchange group’s trading engine and single point of connectivity for its cash markets.