Options IT, a provider of technology infrastructure to hedge funds and brokers, has acquired the hosted co-location business from the prime brokerage division of French banking group BNP Paribas for an undisclosed sum.
As part of the deal, a number BNP Paribas’ hedge fund clients will have their technology infrastructure provided through Core, Options IT’s hosted global business technology infrastructure, which the firm says eliminates the cost of building and maintaining technology in-house. All clients will continue to be BNP Paribas prime brokerage clients and will remain on the bank’s prime brokerage platform.
The acquisition includes regional data centres in California, Texas and New Jersey. These complement the firm’s 12 existing data centres across the US, the UK, Europe and Asia. Options IT has also acquired two regional offices in California and Texas and added IT engineering, management and support staff to its US operations.
“We are delighted to have worked closely with BNP Paribas to seamlessly transition their clients’ co-location technology needs onto Options IT Core and significantly expand our US presence, a key part of our global strategy,” said Nigel Kneafsey, CEO of Options IT, in a statement.
Options IT’s infrastructure-as-a-service offerings comprise Core, Expand, Velocity and Accelerate, which are available individually or bundled under the Options PIPE product suite. The offerings range from infrastructure and technology management for essential business operations to low-latency global connectivity and market data feeds for high-frequency hedge funds and proprietary trading shops.