| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Key people | Hans-Ole Jochumsen (CEO) |
| Products | Stock exchanges |
| Revenue | SEK 4.305 billion (2007)[1] |
| Employees | 1,638 (2007)[1] |
| Parent | NASDAQ OMX Group |
| Website | www.omxnordicexchange.com |
OMX AB (Aktiebolaget Optionsmäklarna/Helsinki Stock Exchange) is a Swedish-Finnish financial services company, formed in 2003 through a merger between OM AB and HEX plc and is now a part of the NASDAQ OMX Group since February 2008.[2]
It has two divisions, OMX Exchanges, which operates eight stock exchanges mainly in the Nordic and Baltic countries, and OMX Technology, which develops and markets systems for financial transactions used by OMX Exchanges, as well as by other stock exchanges. The company is a world leader in financial instruments trading systems.
Contents |
OM AB (Optionsmäklarna) was a futures exchange founded by Olof Stenhammar in the 1980s to introduce trading in standardized option contracts in Sweden. OM acquired the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 1998[3] and unsuccessfully attempted acquisition of the London Stock Exchange in 2001.[4] During the dot-com bubble in the early 21st century OM, together with investment bank Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, launched a virtual European stock exchange called Jiway. The project was not successful[5] and was cancelled on the 14th October 2002.[6]
On 3 September 2003 the Helsinki Stock Exchange (HEX) merged with OM, and the joint company became OM HEX.[7] On August 31, 2004, the brand name of the company was changed to OMX.[8] OMX then acquired the Copenhagen Stock Exchange in January 2005[3] for €164 million.[9] On September 19, 2006 the Iceland Stock Exchange owner Eignarhaldsfelagid Verdbrefathing (EV) announced it would be acquired by OMX in a deal valuing the company at 250 million SEK.[10] The transaction was completed by the end of the year.[3] The company also took a 10% stake in Oslo Børs Holding ASA, the owner of the Oslo Stock Exchange in October 2006. OMX acquired the Armenian Stock Exchange and Central Depository in November 2007.[11]
In December 2005 OMX started First North, an alternative exchange for smaller companies, in Denmark. The First North exchange expanded to Stockholm in June 2006, Iceland in January 2007 and Helsinki in April 2007.[12] The Markets Technology division of Computershare was acquired in 2006. The acquisition greatly expanded its product offerings and made its client list the largest of all trading system technology providers.
The group launched a virtual Nordic Stock Exchange on October 2, 2006, after merging the individual lists of shares traded at its three wholly owned Nordic exchanges into a combined Nordic List.[13] Companies listed on the Iceland Stock Exchange have also since been merged into the list. OMX also launched a pan-regional benchmark index, the OMX Nordic 40, on the same date, however the individual exchanges have also retained their own national benchmark indices.
On May 25, 2007, NASDAQ agreed to buy OMX for US$3.7 billion.[14] In August 2007, however, Borse Dubai offered US$4 billion, prompting speculation of a bidding war.[15] On September 20, 2007, Borse Dubai agreed to stop competing to buy OMX in return for a 20% stake and 5 percent of votes in NASDAQ as well as NASDAQ's then 28% stake in the London Stock Exchange.[16] In a complex transaction, Borse Dubai acquired 97.2% of OMX's outstanding shares before selling them on to NASDAQ.[17] The newly merged company was renamed the NASDAQ OMX Group upon completion of the deal on February 27, 2008.
The company's stock market activities are categorized into three divisions:
In North America OMX supports its most high profile customers such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), ICAP, ISE, and IDCG which are powered by OMX trading systems such as X-stream, CLICK, CONDICO and SAXESS.
OMX is the world's leading providing of Central Securities Depository (CSD) technology. Its Equator CSD product is used by clients in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean.
Central Counterparty Clearing (CCC) technology is a significant potential growth area for OMX. OMX's SECUR clearing[19] and Genium trading platform[20] facilitate trade novation, derivatives clearing, risk management and improved liquidity. SECUR clearing and Genium trading technology are in production around the world.
OMX's technology customers include:
|
||||||||||||||