Chi-X courts possible bidders with eye on £300m price tag
EQUITY trading platform Chi-X is courting interest from a number of potential bidders, as speculation around a takeover of the upstart bourse intensifies in the wake of an approach in August.
Chi-X is thought to be eyeing a sale worth up to £300m after sending out information to interested parties, though sources close to the company insist that it is not definitively “putting itself up for auction” and would be happy to stay independent if a suitable deal cannot be reached.
Interest in Chi-X, owned by a consortium of banks including Credit Suisse, Citi, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, has escalated after the bourse received an unidentified approach in August from a suitor, thought to be rival BATS.
Nasdaq OMX is also among those interested in a potential deal, after its chief executive Robert Greifeld admitted in an interview earlier this month that the company “would be a willing recipient of the Chi-X book”.
Chi-X, which has around a 25 per cent share of the market in FTSE 100 company trading, has appointed independent corporate advisory firm Lexicon Partners and Deutsche Bank to advise it on the sale process.