LMAX acquires Cürex to expand US FX business
LMAX Group, an operator of institutional venues for forex and cryptocurrency trading, announced plans to acquire the foreign exchange operations of Cürex, a New York-based company specializing in institutional foreign exchange execution and data analytics. The specifics regarding the financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed at this time.
The acquisition aims to merge the strengths of both companies. LMAX Group, with its expansive distribution capabilities, and Cürex, with its technological strengths, expect to provide a diversified institutional FX service. This combined offering will cover execution venues, market data, and trade analytics.
Founded in 2009, Cürex offers a range of ECN products. Their portfolio includes a firm pricing spot FX central limit order book tailored for bank algorithmic platforms, a peer-to-peer matching pool, and a platform for both pre and post-trade analytics with real-time data capabilities. Cürex’s affiliations with banks and buy-side entities are seen to complement the existing client base of LMAX Group’s FX division, which already has relationships with global banks and non-bank entities.
This move by LMAX Group appears to be strategic, aiming to enhance its presence in the US market. By integrating Cürex’s offerings, LMAX Group hopes to bolster its technological capabilities and fortify customer relationships. On the flip side, Cürex could benefit from LMAX Group’s broader scale and technical know-how, potentially aiding its aspirations to venture into the Asian market and amplify its liquidity pools. This aspiration is supported by LMAX Group’s existing operations in key Asian regions, including Singapore and Tokyo.
Commenting on the acquisition, David Mercer, CEO, LMAX Group, said: “Cürex and LMAX Group share a common ethos of delivering transparent price discovery and efficient market structure through firm liquidity and no ‘Last Look’ execution. We are constantly exploring ways to expand our product offering and diversify distribution for the institutional segment. We believe that through this acquisition, our combined client base will benefit from a more diversified array of FX solutions as we continue to invest in our technology, people and product development.”
James Singleton, CEO of Cürex added: “LMAX Group is the right business to take Cürex into the next stage of its evolution and start a new phase of growth. After more than a decade of building Cürex, I will be leaving the business, following completion of the acquisition. It has been a privilege to serve in this role and I have no doubt that the combined organisations can achieve great success together under the leadership of LMAX Group.”
LMAX offers exchange style execution for OTC-traded FX products, such as spot FX. In addition, the company’s portfolio covers several assets classes and markets, including cryptocurrency, precious metals, commodities, and equity indices. The company operates institutional crypto exchange LMAX Digital, as well as FX execution venues such as LMAX Exchange (FCA regulated MTF) and LMAX Global (FCA regulated broker).
