Fortis, the global financial services provider, today announced that it has finalised the merger of Fortis Clearing Chicago and Chicago-based O'Connor & Company.
Fortis Clearing Chicago was legally merged into O'Connor & Company on 31 August 2006. The merged company will continue under the name Fortis Clearing Americas LLC. All accounts held by the two firms will be transferred to the new operating company.
This merger substantially increases Fortis's clearing activities on the US equity, futures and options markets. It also forms a key part of Fortis's international growth strategy to give its clients global reach with a local presence and expertise wherever it operates.
The agreement to acquire O'Connor & Company was announced on 9 November 2005 and has received the required approvals from all regulatory agencies, exchanges and clearing organisations.
Fortis Clearing Americas LLC is part of the Merchant Banking division of Fortis. It is one of the largest independent third-party clearers in Europe, Asia/Pacific and the US and offers clearing services for the derivatives, equities, bonds and commodities markets. In addition to Chicago, Fortis Clearing has offices in Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Paris, London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney, with more than 500 employees worldwide. It has General Clearing Memberships at 21 exchanges and access to other major exchanges through third-party relationships.