Bats Global Markets, (Bats) and Direct Edge Holdings LLC (Direct Edge) today announced the receipt of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval for their merger and expect to close the transaction within days.
The merger of BATS and Direct Edge, which was announced in August 2013, combines two customer-focused securities exchange operators under the BATS Global Markets brand to drive further innovation and better serve the trading and investing community.
Joe Ratterman, CEO of BATS Global Markets said, "With the final regulatory approval received, we are focused on closing the merger during the current quarter and beginning the integration of our two highly complementary companies."
William O'Brien, CEO of Direct Edge, said, "We are pleased to reach this important milestone and look forward to leveraging the best-in-class offerings and unique resources from both organizations as we continue to work in partnership with our customers."
Upon closing, Mr. Ratterman will continue in his role as CEO of BATS Global Markets and Mr. O'Brien will be President.
The combined company will remain headquartered in the Kansas City, Mo., area and continue to operate all four existing U.S. equities markets currently run by BATS and Direct Edge -- the BATS' BZX and BYX Exchanges and Direct Edge's EDGX and EDGA Exchanges. The technology integration will include the transition of the Direct Edge equities exchanges to the proprietary BATS technology platform.
Details regarding all aspects of the integration will be released in due course following the transaction closure.
The December 2013 U.S. equities market share for BATS was 9.9% and for Direct Edge was 10.4%.