Automated Equity Finance Markets, known as AQS, has been bought by EquiLend, along with securities lending technology from PDQ ATS.
AQS will be rebranded as EquiLend Clearing Services and will enable the firm to offer capital, balance sheet and workflow solutions for the securities finance industry.
Technology acquired as part of the acquisition will be also be used to facilitate connectivity to OCC’s Market Loan Program, which EquiLend said is the largest equity derivatives clearing organisation in the world.
Brian Lamb, CEO of EquiLend, said : “Momentum has been building in the past two years in support of CCPs in the securities finance marketplace. Balance sheet costs, risk weighting and tougher capital-adequacy requirements have highlighted to the industry the potential benefits of using central clearing services.”
EquiLend plans to operated AQS as it is in the short-term, with clients seeing no disruption in service. However, by the end of 2016, it intended to connect trading and post-trade services to give market participants straight through trade processing and electionic trade submission.
AQS CEO Pat Cestaro and co-founder Greg DePetris will remain as senior advisers to EquiLend regarding CCP-related issues. Cestaro and DePetris acted as principal collaborators with EquiLend and industry stakeholders to help shape a relationship for all parties involved in the deal. The acquisition formally completed on 31 July 2016; financial terms were not disclosed.