Six Exchange Group to buy Aquis Exchange in £225m deal

Swiss stock exchange operator Six Exchange Group said on Monday that it has agreed to buy Aquis Exchange in a £225m deal.

Under the terms of the agreement, Six will pay 727p per share in cash. This is a premium of about 120% to the closing Aquis share price on Friday, which was the last day before the start of the offer period.

Bjørn Sibbern, global head of exchanges at Six, said: "We believe that combining Aquis with Six’s platform is a compelling opportunity to bring together two businesses with a shared commitment to capital markets innovation. The combination will add Aquis' strong offering to our traditional primary exchange and data businesses, complementing Six's existing growth listing segments.

"As part of Six, Aquis will continue to operate under its existing brand and business model with maximum agility while benefitting from our resources, scale and further investment, enhancing Aquis' ability to continue to develop its business. We look forward to welcoming the Aquis team to Six and continuing to build a diverse, pan-European Exchange Innovator."

Alasdair Haynes, founder and chief executive of Aquis, said: "Aquis has a clear path of growth ahead; however, the Aquis directors recognise there are always some operational, commercial and market risks associated with the timing of future value creation. The offer de-risks this future value creation and provides Aquis shareholders with certain value at a material premium."