"Today, in the public market, traders can execute virtually any name at any price, but at minimal execution sizes. Thus, the public market has enormous breadth but virtually no depth and is just not equipped to handle institutional orders. Liquidnet's strength since its inception is in providing our Members the market depth that their institutional orders require. Our challenge is to grow our breadth," said Seth Merrin, CEO of Liquidnet. "Jefferies, one of the leading firms in providing liquidity and best execution to a broad group of customers around the world, is working with us to contribute to the breadth offered by Liquidnet H2O. As the success of Liquidnet H2O grows, so does the realization of a true institutional marketplace of the next generation."

"Best execution cannot be achieved unless you have access to every major pool of liquidity. Being part of Liquidnet H2O will greatly benefit our customers by allowing their orders to interact with a unique institutional- only liquidity pool that up until now has been inaccessible to them," said Ross Stevens, Co-Head of Equity Products at Jefferies. "This partnership is good for our clients and Liquidnet H2O clients, as well as being good for the marketplace in general."