Knight Trading Group is to acquire a stake in New York-based market data firm Track Data. The two companies have also entered a non-binding pact to develop an institutional trading platform.
"We believe that the order management needs of institutional investors are underserved by the order management systems currently available in the securities marketplace," says Kenneth Pasternak, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Knight Trading Group.
Under the agreement, Knight is to acquire one million shares of Track common stock for $1.25 million and has received a three-year option to acquire an additional two million shares of Track stock for $3.5 million.
Pasternack says the proposed joint venture with Track will provide a front-end order management system that will meet institutions' securities order handling and routing needs. "Knight will provide liquidity and content to the new operation, while Track will add functionality and control for the system's institutional subscribers," he adds.
In addition to its market data products, Track also offers myTrack, an integrated, Internet-based online trading and market data system.