About a-team Marketing Services
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry

A-Team Insight Blogs

ION to Spin Off Broadway’s Bond Platform in CMA Deal

Subscribe to our newsletter

ION Investment Group will spin off the fixed-income operations of acquisition target Broadway Technology to an investor group led by Broadway CEO Tyler Moeller, under a deal forged with the UK Competition & Markets Authority. The arrangement paves the way for regulatory approval of the transaction.

The CMA deal leaves ION to focus on Broadway Technology’s FX-related and repo trading businesses, including the BarracudaFX OMS platform and the FICC Trading platform for repurchase agreements. Broadway is the latest of a slew of ION acquisitions that in recent years has seen the company gobble up Acuris, MergerMarkets, Dealogic and most notably Fidessa.

The CMA launched its investigation into ION’s proposed Broadway acquisition in February. It found that adding Broadway to its portfolio would give ION some 25% market share in the bond trading platform segment, with its only direct competition coming from Bloomberg. CMA also cited Axe Trading, smartTrade and TransFICC as lesser competitors in the space.

At the time, CMA said it was “concerned that the [Broadway] deal could … leave customers facing a significantly reduced choice of supplier with the potential for higher prices or more onerous terms and conditions on their services.”

In response to these concerns, ION has offered to sell Broadway’s FI business including the underlying software and the brand to a buyer consortium led by Broadway’s CEO. Following a consultation process launched in September, the CMA said it is “now satisfied that the concerns will be fully addressed by the remedy offered, restoring competition in the supply of FI electronic trading systems to the pre-merger conditions. The CMA has therefore decided that the merger will not be referred for an in-depth Phase 2 investigation.”

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

Upcoming Webinar: The Role of Data Fabric and Data Mesh in Modern Trading Infrastructures

23 September 2025 10:00am ET | 3:00pm London | 4:00pm CET Duration: 50 Minutes The demands on trading infrastructure are intensifying. Increasing data volumes, the necessity for real-time processing, and stringent regulatory requirements are exposing the limitations of legacy data architectures. In response, firms are re-evaluating their data strategies to improve agility, scalability, and governance....

BLOG

The Future of Wealth Management: The Rise of Alternatives and Digital Transformation

By Tom Carey, Corporate Vice President, President of Global Technology and Operations at Broadridge. Wealth management stands at a pivotal crossroads, poised for revolutionary change that will fundamentally reshape the delivery, consumption and value of financial services. Global assets under management are projected to reach $145.4 trillion by 2026, with alternative investments growing at twice...

EVENT

AI in Capital Markets Summit London

The AI in Capital Markets Summit will explore current and emerging trends in AI, the potential of Generative AI and LLMs and how AI can be applied for efficiencies and business value across a number of use cases, in the front and back office of financial institutions. The agenda will explore the risks and challenges of adopting AI and the foundational technologies and data management capabilities that underpin successful deployment.

GUIDE

AI in Capital Markets: Practical Insight for a Transforming Industry – Free Handbook

AI is no longer on the horizon – it’s embedded in the infrastructure of modern capital markets. But separating real impact from inflated promises requires a grounded, practical understanding. The AI in Capital Markets Handbook 2025 provides exactly that. Designed for data-driven professionals across the trade life-cycle, compliance, infrastructure, and strategy, this handbook goes beyond...