BNP Paribas' prime brokerage division has sold its hedge fund outsource technology business to vendor Options IT. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
As part of the acquisition of the colocation business, a number of BNP Paribas hedge fund clients will have their technology infrastructure provided through Options IT's Core system. All clients will continue to be BNP Paribas prime brokerage customers and will remain on its platform.
The client transition will see them integrated onto Options IT Pipe, which supports the Core offering as well as a suite of global market data and high-frequency, low-latency trading infrastructure technology.
Under the deal, Options IT has also acquired regional data centres in California, Texas and New Jersey and two regional offices in California and Texas. IT engineering, management and support staff will also be added to the vendor's US operations.
Nigel Kneafsey, CEO, Options IT, says: "We are delighted to have worked closely with BNP Paribas to seamlessly transition their clients' colocation technology needs onto Options IT Core and significantly expand our US presence, a key part of our global strategy."