Nasdaq has announced it has made a $190m all-cash recommended public offer to the shareholders and warrant holders of Cinnober, the Stockholm-based FinTech provider to brokers, exchanges, and clearinghouses worldwide. The acquisition is set to strengthen Nasdaq’s position as one of the world’s leading market infrastructure technology providers.
Nasdaq expects the transaction to meet the company’s 10% 3-5 year ROIC objective, and to be accretive to non-GAAP EPS within 12 months of closing. In addition, significant synergies are expected from product enhancement, cross-sale, and efficiency opportunities. The Board of Directors of Cinnober has unanimously recommended that shareholders and warrant holders accept the offer.
Adena Friedman, President and CEO, Nasdaq, commented:
“The combined intellectual capital, technology competence and capabilities of Cinnober and our Market Technology business will expand the breadth and depth of our fastest growing division at Nasdaq. Not only have the global capital markets continued to evolve rapidly, new marketplaces in various industries are demanding market technology infrastructure that enables rapid growth and scale as well as access to tools to promote market integrity. This acquisition will enhance our ability to serve market infrastructure operators worldwide, and will accelerate our ability to expand into new growth segments.”
Nils-Robert Persson, co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cinnober, said:
“Since co-founding Cinnober in 1998, Cinnober has been on an exciting journey and has become a leading supplier of financial technology providing services to exchanges and trading houses worldwide. I see the offer as the next step in Cinnober’s development as it will enable Cinnober and its highly talented employees to be even more successful in serving customers as well as expanding its technology and offering to even more customers and segments. I really believe in the strategic logic of combining Cinnober and Nasdaq’s Market Technology business also as it reinforces the strong technology foundation in Sweden. As the largest shareholder of Cinnober, I am supportive of the offer and intend to accept the offer.”
Nasdaq has offered to acquire all outstanding shares and warrants in Cinnober at a price of SEK 75 per share and SEK 85 per warrant.2, which represents an offer value of approximately SEK 1,702m (appr. USD 190m).
Cinnober’s portfolio of offerings includes price discovery and matching, real-time risk management, clearing and settlement, index calculation, data distribution and market surveillance products for world-class customers including the Asia Pacific Exchange, Australian Securities Exchange, B3, Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange, Euronext, Japan Exchange Group, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the London Metal Exchange, LME Clear, NYSE and the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
