TP Icap to buy Liquidnet for up to $700m

(Sharecast News) - TP Icap has agreed to buy Liquidnet Holdings for up to $700m (£541m) to accelerate the modernisation and diversification of its business.
The interdealer broker said it would make an initial payment of $525m in cash for Liquidnet, a no-strings $50m deferred payment and up to $125m depending on performance over three years.

The company said it would hold a $425m rights issue to raise funds for the deal and cut its 2020 dividend in half to minimise dilution of earnings. From 2021 onwards it will target a dividend of about two times earnings.

TP Icap Chief Executive Nicolas Breteau said: "Acquiring Liquidnet is a unique opportunity to transform TP Icap's growth prospects by materially accelerating the execution of our electronification, aggregation and diversification strategy."

The FTSE 250 company said it had consulted shareholders about the deal and that owners of 29% of its shares supported the purchase. TP Icap said it was in talks to buy Liquidnet on 29 September.