LONDON: Hg Capital Trust, Europe’s leading software investor, has entered into an agreement to acquire stakes from Keensight Capital and Pléiade Venture in smartTrade Technologies, a leader in multi-asset electronic trading solutions, headquartered in Aix-en-Provence, France.
David VINCENT, CEO & co-Founder, and the smartTrade management team will remain invested in the business alongside Hg.
smartTrade is a managed services and hosted software provider for trading desks and a global leader in this sector. smartTrade’s liquidity management solutions enable financial institutions to develop and run high-performance trading platforms throughout the world.
The business has expanded rapidly in recent years and today has a global client base, with subsidiaries around the world, including in London, Geneva, Milan, New York, Tokyo and Singapore.
Hg has been investing in Capital Markets and Wealth and Asset Management technology for almost 20 years and has known the smartTrade team since 2015. During this time Hg has recognised smartTrade as a truly innovative business, which has developed leading, modular solutions (LiquidityFX and smartFI), used by sell-side and buy-side market participants.
With an exceptional leadership team, smartTrade has achieved industry-leading technology credentials supported by well-run operations, with continued potential for growth, making it a compelling fit with Hg’s expertise and capabilities.
Hg’s investment will be made from the Mercury 2 Fund and represents the firm’s 7th investment in technology businesses serving the Capital Markets and Wealth and Asset Management sectors, including previous investments such as Ullink, a global multi-asset trading technology software provider (Paris); and more recently FE fundinfo, the global fund data and technology leader (London and Zurich).
David VINCENT, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder at smartTrade Technologies, said: “The success of our business is based on continued innovation and technological advancement, putting R&D at the heart of our business. Welcoming Hg, a real expert in software and technology in this sector, creates a truly compelling offering. I am personally very excited about the prospects of the business. Keensight Capital and Pléiade Venture have played a decisive role in our growth to date, and we are grateful of their involvement. Now, with Hg’s support, alongside the smartTrade team, I am committed to further developing a great service for our customers, as they look to modernise their own systems.”
This proposed investment is subject to French workers’ council consultations and customary clearances. The terms of the transaction are not disclosed.
Hg was advised on the investment by White & Case, Deloitte and Bryan, Garnier & Co. smartTrade was advised by Arma Partners and Hoche Partners.
Edited by Kiran Khan