IG GROUP HOLDINGS PLC - Proposed Acquisition of tastytrade, Inc.
M2 PRESSWIRE-January 22, 2021-: IG GROUP HOLDINGS PLC - Proposed Acquisition of tastytrade, Inc.
(C)1994-2021 M2 COMMUNICATIONS
RDATE:22012021
The Board of IG Group Holdings plc ("IG" and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group") is pleased to announce the proposed acquisition of tastytrade, Inc. ("tastytrade"), a high growth US online brokerage and trading education platform with a leading position in US listed derivatives, primarily options and futures, and over 105,000 active accounts[i] (the "Acquisition").
[section sign] Landmark transaction that expands and diversifies IG's growth drivers through entry into the world's largest listed derivatives market. With an estimated 1.5 million retail traders, the US options and futures market is larger than the rest-of-world CFD/FX and European Turbo markets combined[ii].
[section sign] tastytrade is highly complementary to IG's existing client offering, adding a leading[iii] provider of exchange traded derivatives and increasing the contribution from agency-only activities.
[section sign] The transaction significantly increases the scale and relevance of IG's existing US business through the acquisition of a fast-growing, high margin business that is well positioned to benefit from the structural growth in self-directed investing in the US listed options and futures market.
[section sign] IG and tastytrade share a strong culture and client-centric ethos; both companies also focus on the same client demographic of ambitious, self-directed retail traders.
[section sign] Total consideration of $1.0 billion to be paid to tastytrade's shareholders, comprising $300 million in cash and the issuance of 61.0 million IG shares, valued at $700 million[iv].
[section sign] Following completion of the Acquisition, key tastytrade management shareholders, comprising Tom Sosnoff (Co-CEO, tastytrade), Kristi Ross (Co-CEO and President, tastytrade), Scott Sheridan (CEO, tastyworks) and Linwood Ma (CTO, tastytrade), will join the IG senior leadership team and continue in their current roles to help drive further growth in the business, and will collectively own approximately 5.7% of the enlarged share capital of IG.
[section sign] Financially attractive, with the Acquisition expected to be low single digit accretive to IG's adjusted earnings per share in the first full year post completion[v].
[section sign] Completion of the Acquisition remains subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions, including regulatory and anti-trust consents in the US.
June Felix, Chief Executive of IG, commented, "I am thrilled to welcome tastytrade to the IG Group family. This acquisition will materially expand and scale our business in the US and see us further diversify into the exciting high growth market of US retail options and futures, a market which is adjacent to IG's core retail trading skill set. The US market has more than 1.5 million retail traders and is the largest derivatives market in the world. tastytrade has grown impressively and proven itself to be an innovative market disrupter passionately committed to delivering for their clients. The financial and strategic rationale underpinning this deal are compelling. I am confident that with our shared client-centric ethos, passion for innovation and growth, IG and tastytrade will prove a winning combination."
Tom Sosnoff, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of tastytrade, commented, "Early on we knew tastytrade was a very special company. While our long-term goal has always been to go global, we waited almost 10 years until we found the right partner and perfect match. Together we will focus on empowering the self-directed investor and change the way people perceive and engage with financial markets."
Kristi Ross, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of tastytrade, commented, "We created tastytrade with a vision to challenge self-directed investors to think and trade strategically. We built an ecosystem to empower them. No other firm has built a retail trader ecosystem in quite the same way: delivering authentic, fun and actionable research-based content through our uniquely developed financial media network; to our two revolutionary brokerage firms with intuitive front-end technology, built on high frequency middleware; to a retail-focused futures exchange. IG shares our mission, and similarly has a deep-rooted track record of innovation, leadership in the financial markets with a robust and scalable infrastructure, and most importantly, we share a customer-centric philosophy. We are excited to work with IG to make derivatives trading more accessible for retail investors around the world."
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Information on tastytrade
tastytrade is a unique and fast-growing platform that provides differentiated financial content and trader education alongside a sophisticated options and futures brokerage. tastytrade was founded and is led by an entrepreneurial management team who previously created the highly successful options and futures trading platform, thinkorswim (acquired by TD Ameritrade in 2009). It operates through two primary entities: tastytrade, an online financial network that provides actionable trading content to knowledgeable retail traders, and tastyworks, a leading online brokerage platform enabling self-directed retail traders to trade US options and futures (84% options; 9% futures; 7% equities)[vi]. The distinctive and differentiated client proposition has made tastytrade a disruptive force in the US retail options and futures market.
Founded in 2011, tastytrade's focus on trader education and original content, alongside its sophisticated brokerage offering, provides a clear competitive advantage over peers. With c.900,000 unique registrants, tastytrade is one of the most watched financial networks in the world[vii], engaging traders...
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