GTS to Become Designated Market Maker on the New York Stock Exchange

NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- GTS, an automated market maker in thousands of equities, ETFs, commodities, futures, foreign exchange and interest rate products, today announced that its subsidiary, GTS Securities LLC, plans to become a Designated Market Maker (DMM) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), by acquiring Barclays PLC's DMM trading business.

Upon completion of the acquisition, GTS will become the DMM for over 1,200 listed securities, including many U.S. and international blue chip corporations. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"GTS's new role as a Designated Market Maker reflects our commitment to providing more liquidity in more places, and to creating a better, more cost-efficient marketplace for retail and institutional investors and listed issuers," said Ari Rubenstein, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of GTS. "GTS is supporting efficient capital formation to drive the growth of listed companies. Becoming a DMM is a natural marriage of our floor trading expertise and cutting-edge technology. We look forward to building relationships with issuers and to serving them in this important role."

"DMMs play an essential role in enhancing market quality by maintaining fair and orderly markets and facilitating price discovery through a combination of human judgment and the latest technology," said Tom Farley, NYSE Group President. "The DMM model, unique to the NYSE, provides an irreplaceable safeguard to investors and listed companies and is proven to lower volatility for individual stocks. This is especially critical during complex market events, such as IPOs and the start of trading each day."

"GTS brings new energy, a commitment to technology, innovation and unique expertise to the NYSE floor, which will benefit our listed companies," said Farley.

Virtually all of the Barclays DMM floor team are expected to join GTS as part of the transaction. GTS will work closely with Barclays to ensure a seamless transition of staff to its technology platform as well as communication with issuers upon completion of the transaction.

"We continue to believe in the DMM model, and in the benefits that it can bring to issuers. However, with the evolving market structure, we also believe that a firm specializing in the technology of market making, such as GTS, is best suited to enhance the NYSE DMM business," said Joseph Mecane, Managing Director in the Electronic Equities and Credit Products business at Barclays.

Rosenblatt Securities advised GTS on the transaction.

About GTS

Positioned at the intersection of capital markets and technology, GTS is an integrated trading and technology firm that combines market expertise honed through years spent in the exchange pits with industry-best software and network solutions. GTS's electronic market making group, which accounts for over 3-5% of daily cash equities volume in the U.S., utilizes proprietary technology and sophisticated pricing models to offer investors some of the most efficient prices on securities and commodities. Through its fully integrated Strike Technologies division, GTS enables market participants to use its cutting-edge risk management. For more information, please visit: http://www.gtsx.com/.

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SOURCE GTS