Spread betting and contracts for difference (CFD) operator IG Group has completed its acquisition of brokerage and investor education platform Tastytrade.
The purchase was worth $1.0bn (£721.3m/€839.3m), with a deal brokered in January this year seeing IG Group agree to pay an initial $300m in cash and also issue 61 million new IG Group shares at a price of $11.47 each.
IG Group has now received all the necessary regulatory and anti-trust approvals and also satisfied necessary pre-conditions to complete the deal, with the operator having made an application for the new shares.
The issued shares will be placed in the premium listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and trade on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange.
Admission is expected to become effective and unconditional today (29 June), with dealings in the shares expected to commence on the same day.
Subject to admission, the total number of ordinary shares of 0.005p each with voting rights in issue will be 431,299,455.
“This transaction marks another important milestone in the delivery of IG’s growth strategy, diversifying our product offering and significantly strengthening our global franchise,” IG Group chief executive June Felix said.
“I am thrilled to welcome Tastytrade to the IG family. Tastytrade is an innovative, high growth, high margin business giving us immediate scale in the largest retail options and futures market in the world.”
Tastytrade consists of two brands: media brand Tastytrade, which offers education to traders about options and futures markets; and brokerage platform Tastyworks, which boasts more than 105,000 active accounts.
“Tastytrade will significantly enhance our client proposition, broadening choice and opportunity while providing products, tools and educational resources to empower financial decision making,” Felix added.
