Nasdaq has agreed to acquire Adenza, a US-based mission-critical risk management and regulatory software provider to the financial services sector, from Thoma Bravo for $10.5bn in cash and stock.
Under the terms of the agreement, the financial technology company will pay $5.75bn in cash and issue 85.6 million shares of its common stock as consideration.
Established through the combination of regulatory and compliance software provider AxiomSL and end-to-end treasury, risk and collateral management workflows provider Calypso, Adenza offers end-to-end, treasury, trading, risk management, and regulatory compliance platforms.
The platforms are delivered to on-premises or on-cloud.
Adenza also helps financial organisations to consolidate and optimise their operations with front-to-back solutions combined with data management and reporting.
The acquisition of Adenza is expected to complement Nasdaq’s marketplace technology and anti-financial crime solutions and improve the latter’s capabilities across a wider range of regulatory technology, compliance, and risk management solutions.
Adenza CEO Didier Bouillard said: “This transaction is an endorsement of the entire Adenza team and what we have built with Thoma Bravo, from our market-leading products to the immense value we have delivered for our customers.
“Together with Nasdaq, we will be in an even stronger position to take advantage of the growing market opportunities and to provide customers with expanded solutions to solve their most complex problems.”
Nasdaq, with the acquisition of Adenza, expects to offer extensive support to financial organisations by establishing a multi-asset class and full trade lifecycle platform with better regulatory technology solutions.
The integration of Adenza’s modular solutions and optimised go-to-market operating model with Nasdaq’s artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud capabilities will strengthen the latter’s value proposition for clients.
Nasdaq plans to bring a broader, more scalable suite of software and technological solutions with the acquisition.
Nasdaq chair and CEO Adena Friedman said: “The acquisition of Adenza brings together two world-class franchises steeped in market infrastructure, regulatory, and risk management expertise at a time when financial institutions are navigating some of the most complex market dynamics in history.”
Upon the completion of the deal, Nasdaq will transfer about 14.9% of the company’s shares to the owners of Adenza.
Nasdaq has also secured fully committed bridge financing for the cash component of the consideration. The company plans to issue about $5.9bn of debt between the signing and completion of the deal.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions, is anticipated to be complete within six to nine months.
