Nasdaq Finalizes $10.5B Adenza Acquisition in Financial-Technology Bet

Nasdaq Inc. has concluded its largest acquisition to date, purchasing software provider Adenza. The aim of this acquisition is to evolve Nasdaq from a trading and markets firm into a comprehensive financial-services company.

Adenza Acquisition

Nasdaq bought Adenza from Thoma Bravo for $10.5 billion in June. Adenza’s management and sales team will now join a new financial-technology division within Nasdaq. This business unit will operate alongside the existing market-services and capital access platforms divisions, demonstrating a revamped organizational structure following the acquisition.

Nasdaq’s CEO, Adena Friedman, expressed optimism about the future. She hopes to reposition Nasdaq as a significant financial-technology provider with a well-planned strategy.

Leadership and Strategy

Nasdaq President Tal Cohen will oversee both the market-services and financial-technology segments, while Nelson Griggs will continue as the president of capital access platforms.

The Adenza acquisition aligns with Nasdaq’s strategy to invest in offerings with more reliable revenue streams. The deal also allows private equity firm Thoma Bravo to secure a seat on Nasdaq’s board and a 14.9% stake, making it one of Nasdaq’s largest shareholders.

About Adenza

Adenza, a merger of Calypso Technology and AxiomSL, sells software to various entities within the financial-services industry. These include banks, asset managers, exchanges, and others in need of regulatory reporting, compliance, and risk management solutions.

Nasdaq as a Technology Company

Although Nasdaq is the second-largest stock exchange in the US, it identifies as a technology company. Beyond running the exchange, the New York-based firm provides data, analytics, software, and surveillance services to its clients, which range from investors to publicly traded and closely held companies.

Under Friedman’s leadership, Nasdaq is working to reduce dependency on revenue from data and transactions that fluctuate with market conditions. The acquisition of Adenza aims to promote growth by engaging new clients and strengthening existing relationships within the finance and markets sectors.

Nasdaq believes that the integration of Adenza will enhance its product offering and deepen relationships with current customers. The successful completion of the antitrust review process for the deal was confirmed during Nasdaq’s third-quarter analyst call. It was also announced that Nasdaq had issued $5.9 billion of debt for the acquisition.