LONDON and JERSEY CITY, N.J., Nov. 19, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PLUS Markets Group plc ("PLUS Markets") and Direct Edge ECN LLC ("Direct Edge") confirm today their intention to co-operate with a view to opportunities relating to the listing and trading of equity securities in the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union. The two parties have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding, which is both non-binding and non-exclusive, as the basis for their future co-operation.
PLUS Markets is a London-based stock exchange specializing in small and mid-cap U.K. and European equity securities. Direct Edge is a U.S.-based electronic communications network that is currently in the process of converting to an SEC-regulated stock exchange. Direct Edge is the fourth largest U.S. equities market centre, handling an average of over a billion shares a day (accounting for over 10% of U.S. trading volume) through its trading platforms.
"We are delighted to be exploring transatlantic co-operation opportunities with Direct Edge, who have established themselves rapidly in the highly-competitive U.S. equity trading marketplace," said Simon Brickles, Chief Executive Officer of PLUS Markets Group plc. "Together, as the European markets adjust to a post-MiFID environment, we believe there are exciting opportunities which we can leverage."
William O'Brien, CEO of Direct Edge, said: "PLUS Markets has followed much the same path in Europe as Direct Edge is following in the United States. PLUS Markets innovated, established a successful core business, broadened its offerings, made the transition to exchange status, and is now expanding its business even further. We look forward to exploring future business opportunities together."
The two parties were introduced by Rosenblatt Securities at their Global Exchange CEO & Investor Conference in New York.
About Direct Edge ECN
Direct Edge ECN offers the next generation of displayed markets. Through multiple platforms and unique order types, Direct Edge matches complementary forms of liquidity based on sensitivity to transaction cost, fill rate, fill speed, and contra-side sophistication while maintaining high execution quality and low latencies. Direct Edge is owned by a consortium that includes Knight Capital Group, Inc., Citadel Derivatives Group, and The Goldman Sachs Group. A recent deal, when approved, will add the International Securities Exchange to the ownership consortium, while permitting Direct Edge to take operational control of the ISE Stock Exchange. Direct Edge's average daily touched volume in October 2008 was over 1 billion shares. More information about Direct Edge is available at http://www.directedge.com. Everybody Needs Some Edge.
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About PLUS Markets
PLUS Markets is a competitive small and mid-cap stock exchange based in the City of London, operating both primary and secondary markets and offering trading services in some 7,500 UK and European equity securities. It is currently implementing a programme of trading platform enhancements, including its "PLUS-pool" dark liquidity pool for small and mid-cap securities and its "PLUS-HQ" hittable quote board for liquid securities. Through this initiative, it intends to become the natural electronic meeting-place for retail and institutional order flow in London.