Perseus Telecom, a privately held provider of high speed global connectivity, has acquired TLV Networks and its ultra-low latency microwave connectivity between CME’s Aurora data centre and ICE at Equinix’s 350 Cermak Road data centre in Chicago.
The all cash transaction completes today and transfers TLV Networks’ hardware, spectrum, design and operational service to Perseus, along with a bespoke market data service between the CME and ICE exchanges. Perseus adds the CME to ICE connectivity to a global network of 103 markets and data centre connections.
TLV Networks was designed and maintained by wireless network infrastructure company CCSI and started service in June 2013, showing 99.9% reliability during poor weather conditions in the Chicago area. Perseus will continue to call on CCSI for project design and construction as needed.
Jock Percy, chief executive of Perseus, says the acquisition results from the company looking specifically for the fastest methodology to provide wireless service between CME and ICE. The wireless service will augment the company’s fastest fibre optic network between the exchanges. He explains: “We have acquired TLV Networks because its network is the best in class between CME and ICE, with the best performance. This fits perfectly into the Perseus worldwide network. Customers will benefit from faster time to market, faster market data distribution, improved transaction times between markets and very high reliability because we use microwave, not weather susceptible millimetre or free space optics, underpinned by fastest fibre optics.”
The wireless link between CME and ICE adds to wireless market-to-market connectivity offered by Perseus in Europe and between Europe and the US. Percy says Perseus plans to build out more microwave connectivity using TLV Networks’ technology and expects it to appeal to a relatively small number of financial market participants for which ultra-low latency connectivity is important. On the CME to ICE link, he says: “There are hundreds of market participants on both exchanges that Perseus can now provide a complete solution for.”
Looking forward, Percy expects Perseus to make more acquisitions in line with its corporate objectives of organic growth, market addition, product and service augmentation, and growth by acquisition. Perseus is the parent company of Marco Polo New World Securities, which connects 170 brokers in 80 markets with 38 liquidity centres.
