SIX has reportedly completed its acquisition of Aquis, creating a pan-European exchange innovator with an aggregated 15% market share and access to 16 capital markets across Europe.
By combining Aquis’ technology with the multi-asset class services of SIX, the transaction strengthens “the position of SIX in European trading, enhances efficiency, and delivers new growth opportunities for clients.”
Bjørn Sibbern, CEO SIX said:
“The acquisition of Aquis marks a significant milestone in the evolution of SIX as a pan-European leader. With Aquis, we gain not only access to new markets but also the technology and expertise needed to drive innovation at scale. We aim to offer our clients a unified experience with “One Plug, Multiple Trading Venues” – a single connection providing access to Switzerland, Spain, and the UK –, ensuring more liquidity, better market access, and innovative trading solutions.”
David Stevens, CEO Aquis, added:
“Joining SIX is an exciting opportunity for Aquis and our clients. Aquis has achieved great momentum in our mission to challenge across European capital markets, and we will be able to go further, faster, and stronger as part of SIX. We will continue to innovate in trading, to deploy cutting-edge technology, and to provide a tailored listings environment for the UK’s high-growth smaller companies, while further benefiting from the strength of the European reach and infrastructure of SIX. Together, we are uniquely positioned to shape the future of the European exchange landscape.”
Tomas Kindler, Global Head Exchanges SIX:
“Aquis is a key strategic building block for us to become a truly pan-European exchange, listing venue for growth companies, and trading technology provider. I’m excited about the opportunities we will pursue together.”
Aquis will continue to operate under its established brand, “with its existing management team and business model, preserving its agile execution capabilities.”
This acquisition sets the stage for SIX to “deploy Aquis’ technology as a nucleus for capital markets innovation.”
SIX works closely with the relevant regulatory authorities to “obtain the necessary approvals, ensuring that all required authorizations are in place for further enhancing the trading experience for clients across Europe.”
SIX operates a fully integrated exchange value chain “across the Swiss and Spanish financial centers, thus ensuring access to the capital markets and the flow of information and money between financial market players.”
SIX provides a diversified product portfolio “for securities trading, stock market transactions, financial information, and payment transactions across four business units: (i) Exchanges, with SIX Swiss Exchange and BME Exchange delivering listing, trading and market data services of cash equities, derivatives, and fixed income; (ii) Securities Services, offering clearing, settlement and custody, securities finance, tax services and trade repository services; (iii) Financial Information, offering reference, corporate actions and market data, tax and regulatory services, indices, and ESG data; (iv) Banking Services, delivering payment services including connectivity (open banking), debit and mobile solutions, billing and payments, and cash and ATMs.”