Bats Global Markets (Pending:BATS) expects to raise ~$200 million in its upcoming IPO. Based in Lenexa, Kansas, Bats Global Markets is the largest U.S. equities market operator with four exchanges: the Bats BZX Exchange, BYX Exchange, EDGA Exchange, and EDGX Exchange. In addition, the company operates two U.S. equity options exchanges, the pan-European stock market and a global market for trading foreign exchange products.
Bats expects to price its IPO between $17 and $19; however, Bats itself will not issue shares in the IPO, rather it will allow current shareholders to sell up to 11.2 million shares.
Lead Underwriters: Citigroup and Morgan Stanley
Underwriters: BofA Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse Securities, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Jeffries Securities, Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank Securities, Nomura, Rosenblatt Securities, and Sandler O’Neil and Partners.
Business Summary: Operator Of Several Exchanges
Bats Global Markets operates a variety of exchanges in the U.S. and Europe as well as offering services for financial markets across the globe for traders, issuers and investors. Their proprietary platform facilitates trading in securities and exchange traded products (ETPs) for its U.S. and European equities markets and their two U.S. options exchanges. In addition, the company operates Hotspot, an institutional spot foreign exchange market.
The shares will be listed on the Bats BZX Exchange with the symbol “BATS.” Bats originally planned an IPO in March 2012. The shares priced on March 23, 2012 at $16, but a glitch in the Bats trading programs caused the stock price to fall to as low as $.04 per share.
Up To Bat Again, Following Prior Problems
Not only did the glitch cause issues in its own IPO, but three flawed Apple trades tripped a circuit breaker, which temporarily stopped trading in Apple stock. Bats halted trading on its exchange of affected stocks with a range of symbols; the exchange later reinstated trading in those shares, but withdrew the Bats IPO.
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