NYSE Group Will Buy Messaging Expert TransactTools

Ivy Schmerken, Wall Street & Technology

NYSE Group signed a definitive agreement to acquire TransactTools Inc., a leader in providing enterprise-messaging solutions for the securities trading industry. The transaction is expected to close in early January 2007, though financial terms were not disclosed.TransactTools' standards-based messaging technology is known for its speed and scalability and is the enterprise backbone for global transaction routing at many of the world's leading financial institutions, according to the release.

NYSE Group is going to integrate the technology and products of TransactTools to address the changing connectivity needs of its clients and the broader markets, stated Jerry Putnam, NYSE Group President and co-Chief Operating Officer, who is quoted in the release.

The deal follows the recently completed acquisition of the Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC), which operates SFTI, the high-performance network connecting market participants to liquidity and information, as well as Sector, a commercial business unit providing connectivity, managed services, and market data content to the financial services industry.

Upon completion of the transaction, Sam Johnson, CEO of TransactTools will be NYSE Group EVP reporting directly to Putnam and will be responsible for integrating the TransactTools, SFTI and Sector businesses into a single commercial unit for NYSE Group.

"Our vision has always been to provide the industry with a single, simple comprehensive solution for managing access to liquidity regardless of where it sits," stated Johnson in the release. "We're taking a huge step towards that vision in joining NYSE Group and integrating our platform with other key NYSE Group technology assets," he further stated.

TransactTools brings an enterprise customer base of 17 of the world's 20 largest securities firms to the NYSE, as well as the opportunity to add the strategic commercial software and services business to its core listings and executions business, noted Johnson in the release.

The firm has 40 employees located in its New York headquarters and offices in London, Singapore, Chicago and Boston. Ivy is Editor-at-Large for Advanced Trading and Wall Street & Technology. Ivy is responsible for writing in-depth feature articles, daily blogs and news articles with a focus on automated trading in the capital markets. As an industry expert, Ivy has reported on a myriad ... View Full Bio