OMX

This article is about the Nordic stock exchange group. OMX is also the stock symbol for OfficeMax and is frequently used as an abbreviation for OpenMAX.
OMX AB
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]
Number of employees
 1,638 (2007)[1]
Parent NASDAQ OMX Group
Slogan Efficient securities transactions
Website www.omxnordicexchange.com
The old Stockholm Stock Exchange building.

OMX AB (Aktiebolaget Optionsmäklarna/Helsinki Stock Exchange) is a Swedo-Finnish financial services company, formed in 2003 through a merger between OM AB and HEX plc and is 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.

History

Origins

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 14 October 2002.[6]

Acquisition of other exchanges

On 3 September 2003 the Helsinki Stock Exchange (HEX) merged with OM, and the joint company became OM HEX.[7] On 31 August 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 19 September 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]

Expansion of offerings

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 2 October 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.

NASDAQ takeover

On 25 May 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 20 September 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 27 February 2008.

OMX exchanges

Divisions

The company's stock market activities are categorized into three divisions:

Technology

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 provider 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:

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "OMX Financial Year-End Report 2007" (PDF). OMX. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  2. ↑ http://www.securitiesindustry.com/news/22064-1.html Article on Nasdaq's Acquisition of OMX
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Milestones". NASDAQ OMX Group. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  4. ↑ Treanor, Jill (10 December 2002). "Stock Exchange teams up with OM". The Guardian (London: guardian.co.uk). Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  5. ↑ "OM losses shock analysts". BBC News. 18 April 2001. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  6. ↑ "City briefing: Jiway eases bourse clutter". The Guardian (London: guardian.co.uk). 15 October 2002. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  7. ↑ Leighton-Jones, Phillipa (4 September 2003). "OMHex appoints new chief executive as trading begins". Financial News. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  8. ↑ "OMHEX changes name to OMX". Finextra. 31 August 2004. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  9. ↑ Akerhielm, Maria (16 November 2004). "OMX to Buy Copenhagen Exchange". Dow Jones Newswires (The Wall Street Journal). Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  10. ↑ "OMX to buy Iceland bourse owner in all share deal". AFX News (Forbes). 19 September 2006. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  11. ↑ "OMX - press release". Cision Wire. Retrieved 21 November 2007.
  12. ↑ "OMX: First North Services Expand to Finland". Business Wire. 3 April 2007. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  13. ↑ "The OMX Nordic Exchange strengthens its position as a leading European marketplace" (Press release). OMX. 2 October 2006. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  14. ↑ "Nasdaq bids $3.7bn for Nordic OMX". BBC News. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  15. ↑ "Dubai in $4bn bid for Nordic OMX". BBC News. 17 August 2007. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  16. ↑ Magnusson, Niklas; McSheehy, Will (20 September 2007). "Dubai to Buy Stakes in Nasdaq, LSE; Strikes OMX Deal". Bloomberg. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  17. ↑ "Borse Dubai completes planned sale of OMX to Nasdaq". Associated Press (International Herald Tribune). 27 September 2007. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  18. ↑ Cox, Adam (21 November 2007). "OMX says buys Armenian stock exchange". Reuters. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
  19. ↑ "SECUR clearing solution" (PDF). Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  20. ↑ "Genium INET Trading" (PDF). Retrieved 8 October 2011.

External links