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SIX Group AG has agreed to acquire Aquis Exchange Plc in a recommended cash offer valuing the London-based trading venue at £207 million, as the Swiss exchange operator seeks to expand its European footprint.
The deal, priced at 727 pence per share, represents a 68% premium to Aquis's six-month volume-weighted average price and a 120% premium to its closing price of 330 pence on November 8, 2024. The offer implies an enterprise value of approximately £194 million.
Aquis, founded in 2012, operates a pan-European multilateral trading facility covering 16 European markets, licenses market infrastructure technologies, runs a UK primary listing growth market, and provides market data services. The company maintains headquarters in London with an EU base in Paris.
Bjørn Sibbern, Global Head of Exchanges at SIX, said: "We believe that combining Aquis with SIX's platform is a compelling opportunity to bring together two businesses with a shared commitment to capital markets innovation. The combination will add Aquis' strong offering to our traditional primary exchange and data businesses, complementing SIX's existing growth listing segments."
Alasdair Haynes, CEO of Aquis, said: "I am immensely proud of the business we have built over the past 12 years. Since launching as a start-up subscription based exchange in 2012, Aquis has become a diversified multi-product European exchange group that creates and facilitates more efficient markets for a modern economy. The cash offer de-risks this future value creation and provides Aquis shareholders with certain value at a material premium."
The acquisition aims to enhance SIX's pan-European presence beyond its home markets, create new growth opportunities for both Swiss and Spanish financial centres, and establish a competitive pan-European listing venue for growth companies by combining both firms' listing segments.
