PEAK6, the parent company of Apex Clearing and one of the backers of the technology powering Franklin Templeton’s “turnkey robo advisor,” Tango, acquired Hardcastle Trading AG, according to an announcement. Hardcastle Trading is a Swiss firm providing “proprietary trading technology and a deep bench of talented engineers” that will “complement PEAK6’s existing platform.”
PEAK6 plans to use the tech to improve liquidity for customers in the options markets. “Hardcastle is an exceptional fit with our business and a natural pairing for us given the team’s focus on leveraging technology to make trading the way it ought to be,” said Tom Simpson, CEO of PEAK6 Capital Management, a sister company to Apex Clearing. “This acquisition is an important step in extending our PEAK6 Capital Management team’s reach by providing additional liquidity for electronic options markets in the U.S. and Europe.”
Hardcastle, founded in 1998, will have access to new markets with the deal, said CEO Flint Craig.
Terms for the deal, which closed Dec. 21, were not disclosed.
