NEWS UPDATE
SELL-SIDE
Barclays sells equity
options trading
division to GTS
GTS has entered into a definitive agreement
to acquire the equity options market making
at Barclays for an undisclosed sum.
E
lectronic market maker GTS has confirmed it will acquire
the equity options market making business of UK in-
vestment bank Barclays, which will see around 40 Barclays
staff move to GTS.
In a statement, GTS said it has entered into a definitive
agreement to purchase the equities automated options
trading unit’s assets from Barclays for an undisclosed sum.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter next
year.
Kirill Gelman, who has led the business for Barclays since
2008, will move to GTS upon completion of the acquisition,
alongside 40 other Barclays personnel. Gelman will continue
to head the division, which provides quotes in more than
735,000 securities across 13 global options exchanges. The
business trades around 2% of all exchange traded equity
options volume in the US.
“The acquisition furthers GTS’s expertise in providing
data-driven precision pricing to investors. Options are an
active asset class and important investment tool and are
a highly complementary fit to our growing roster of global
financial instruments,” said Ari Rubenstein, co-founder and
CEO of GTS.
The deal is the latest between the two institutions, after
GTS acquired Barclays’ designated market maker (DMM)
business in 2016, allowing GTS to operate as a DMM at the
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) providing bid and ask
prices on behalf of trading venues to provide liquidity, and
acting as a conduit between listed companies and traders.
Large investment banks have pulled back from market
making to focus on core business lines in light of increased
competition from high-speed trading firms entering the
space in recent years. Prior to the deal with GTS in 2016,
Barclays had become one of the largest market makers on
the NYSE, after previously acquiring the DMM rights of Bear
Wagners from JP Morgan in 2009, and the DMM assign-
ments from LaBranche the following year.
TRADE TECH
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF TRADETECH 2020
D a ily
ARRIVING APRIL 2020
Issue 59 // TheTradeNews.com // 15
For more information please contact Marc Carolissen [email protected] +44 (0)207 397 3807