CSC is to acquire Fixnetix, a provider of front-office managed trading solutions in capital markets, enabling CSC to offer capital market clients an expanded range of as-a-service front office capabilities.
the acquisition will also strengthen CSC’s ability to address growing client demand for greater efficiency and innovation in trading, market data, hosting, infrastructure, connectivity and risk management.
Capital market firms of all sizes are facing rapid change amid more stringent customer, regulatory and competitive requirements. With sophisticated systems that are often cost- prohibitive to run in-house, firms are looking to outsource the management and operation of trading systems’ infrastructure to become more agile, responsive to customers and cost efficient. Increasingly, they are turning to as-a-service utility models that leverage next-generation IT solutions to support global, ultra-low latency trading environments that are reliable, secure, have minimal risk and enable at-trade compliance.
Fixnetix streamlines front-office management and trading systems operations, market information systems and related technology infrastructure. With headquarters in London, Fixnetix also has operations in New York, Boston, Chicago and Tokyo.
“Fixnetix will be a key component to the implementation of our infrastructure strategy and will advance CSC as a leader in providing managed services to capital markets firms throughout the world,” says Steve Hilton, executive vice president and general manager, Global Infrastructure Services, CSC. “Our mission is to provide next-generation IT platforms and IT utility services that reduce cost and modernise industry services for our clients.
“This is a transformative market that is ready to embrace an as-a-service utility model, and CSC is uniquely positioned to make this happen with the addition of Fixnetix. While time to market will continue to be a competitive differentiator, security and availability remain vital; clients increasingly seek lower cost service delivery and usage-based pricing. With this acquisition our clients will gain access to an expanded range of as-a-service, front-office capabilities as we build on our commitment to provide reliable, cost-efficient technology infrastructure.”
Hugh Hughes (pictured), CEO and chairman of Fixnetix, says: “Aligning with CSC expands the global reach and scale of Fixnetix to better serve our global clients. For the last decade, Fixnetix has built a first-rate reputation within the global financial community. Becoming part of CSC represents the natural next step for Fixnetix. We will gain the resources that we need to better respond to market demand, effectively address bigger deployments, and build on our established success. CSC’s proven at-scale reputation to deliver across all industries will fundamentally bring greater credibility and presence to Fixnetix. We look forward to bringing CSC’s scale capabilities, application modernisation, reliability and simplicity to our clients.”
“The new capital markets reality requires holistic service partners that can more effectively assist firms throughout the transaction life cycle and across asset class and geography,” says Larry Tabb, Founder and CEO of TABB Group a financial markets research and advisory firm. “The front-end strengths of Fixnetix combined with the delivery capabilities and balance sheet of CSC helps fill this need.”