On Friday,?BATS Global Markets, Inc. (BATS) and?Direct Edge Holdings LLC (Direct Edge) announced they had received Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval for their merger. The transaction is expected to close within days.
The merger of the two had previously been announced in August 2013.?
Joe Ratterman, CEO of BATS Global Markets, said in a press press release, ?With the final regulatory approval received, we are focused on closing the merger during the current quarter and beginning the integration of our two highly complementary companies.?
William O?Brien, CEO of Direct Edge, added, ?We are pleased to reach this important milestone and look forward to leveraging the best-in-class offerings and unique resources from both organizations as we continue to work in partnership with our customers.?
Upon closing, Ratterman will continue as CEO of BATS Global Markets and O?Brien will be President. The combined company will remain headquartered in the Kansas City, Mo., area and it will continue to operate all four existing U.S. equities markets currently run by BATS and Direct Edge: BATS? BZX and BYX Exchanges and Direct Edge?s EDGX and EDGA Exchanges. The technology integration will include the transition of the Direct Edge equities exchanges to the proprietary BATS technology platform.
Details regarding the integration will be released after the transaction’s close.
From December 2013 numbers, U.S. equities market share for BATS was 9.9% and for Direct Edge, it was 10.4%.