13:31 | 08.03.2010
DGAP-News: NASDAQ OMX Purchases North American Energy Credit and Clearing Business
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. /
08.03.2010 13:31
Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by
DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Acquisition is Expected to Enable NASDAQ OMX to Offer OTC Power Clearing for
Both Financial and Physical Markets
NEW YORK, March 8, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
(Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced the purchase of the business of North American
Energy Credit and Clearing Corp. (NECC), a Chicago-based clearinghouse for the
over the counter (OTC) power and gas markets. The NECC transaction closed on
March 3. Financial terms were not disclosed.
‘NASDAQ OMX continues to expand its presence in OTC commodities and clearing,
and this acquisition presents us with an opportunity to deliver what the U.S.
power and gas market currently lacks: a clearinghouse with the flexibility to
clear both financial and physical instruments,’ said Bob Greifeld, Chief
Executive Officer of The NASDAQ OMX Group. ‘The U.S. power and natural gas
market is another area where we can strategically apply our exchange technology
and an innovative clearing solution to reduce risk, increase volume, and better
serve the customer through improved services and lower cost.’
NASDAQ OMX is an experienced operator in the energy and commodities space
through its Nord Pool market, the world’s largest power derivatives exchange
which has been in operation for 15 years. The exchange recently launched N2EX,
its marketplace for physical UK power contracts.
‘The support and resources of NASDAQ OMX will enable our team to expand our
offering over the entire continental U.S. and provide the clearing facility
that the industry has been seeking,’ said George Sladoje, former Chairman and
CEO of NECC.
The NASDAQ OMX Commodities Clearing operation will be led by Geir Reigstad,
Head of NASDAQ OMX Commodities. NASDAQ OMX has several operations in clearing
across multiple asset classes, including majority-owned IDCG, which provides
clearing for interest rate swaps. NASDAQ OMX also recently completed the first
cross-border merger of clearing houses with the combination of its Nord Pool
and Nordic clearing houses to clear Nordic equities, fixed income and power
derivatives. NASDAQ OMX plans to offer central clearing in its U.K. power
derivatives market in 2010.
The NECC acquisition follows NASDAQ OMX’s recent purchase of a majority stake
in Agora-X, which enables institutional market participants to efficiently
negotiate OTC transactions in commodity and derivative contracts.
NECC’s business supports the U.S. physical power and gas markets by integrating
the physical and financial markets through market-neutral clearing services. It
develops and provides clearing services to North American energy markets. The
business’ key customers include physical traders such as utilities and merchant
generators, and financial traders such as banks and hedge funds. Operating as a
market-neutral ‘riskless principal’, the clearinghouse enters matching
positions with different counterparties and manages the credit risk on both
sides using standard clearinghouse type margining.
For more information on NASDAQ OMX Commodities:
http://www.nasdaqomx.com/commodities
About NASDAQ OMX Group:
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world’s largest exchange company. It delivers
trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents,
with approximately 3,700 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital
raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings
market, NASDAQ OMX Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX First North, and the
U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes
including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and
exchange-traded funds. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70
exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more
than 50 countries. NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal
entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in
Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more
information about NASDAQ OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com. *Please follow
NASDAQ OMX on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/NASDAQ-OMX/108167527653)
and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx).
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The matters described herein may contain forward-looking statements that are
made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to,
statements about the purchase of the NECC business and about our activities and
plans in commodities and in clearing, both in the United States and overseas.
We caution that these statements are not guarantees of future performance.
Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of
risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond NASDAQ OMX’s control. These
factors include, but are not limited to, factors detailed in NASDAQ OMX’s
annual report on Form 10-K, and periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to release any revisions to
any forward-looking statements.
NDAQG
CONTACT: The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
Media Contacts:
Anna Rasin
+46 (8) 405 66 12
Anna.Rasin@NASDAQOMX.com
Robert Madden
+1 646 441 5045
Robert.Madden@NASDAQOMX.com
Marisha Chinsky
+ 1 646 441 5258
Marish.Chinsky@NASDAQOMX.com
News Source: NASDAQ OMX
08.03.2010 13:31 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Media Release distributed by DGAP. Medienarchiv at
www.dgap-medientreff.de
and
www.dgap.de
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Language: English
Company: The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
United States
Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:
Internet:
ISIN: US6311031081
WKN:
End of News DGAP News-Service
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