Nasdaq acquires SMARTS

SMARTS chief executive Dr. Andreas Furche, excited by new opportunities

As part of a diversification strategy the Nasdaq OMX Group, which runs the tech-heavy securities index with the same name, has snapped up Australian financial monitoring software company SMARTS for an undisclosed sum.

SMARTS Group began life in 1994 as a research project at the Capital Markets Co-operative Research Centre. It supplies market monitoring software to 40 national stock exchanges; its software is also used by more than 50 broking firms, bringing in 95 per cent of its $25 million in revenue from overseas.

The acquisition is unlikely, however, to promote any of the founders on to BRW’s Rich 200 list (the cut-off is $185 million), as SMARTS shares were spread across almost 50 people.

According to a joint statement, Nasdaq OMX will acquire 100 per cent of the shares in privately held SMARTS Group Holdings, and intends to integrate the company into the Nasdaq OMX Market Technology business, which delivers technology to over 70 marketplaces in more than 50 countries.

In a statement to the press, Nasdaq chief information officer Anna Ewing said the company intends to expand its Australian operations and use the existing 130-strong SMARTS team as a base to develop a greater presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

SMARTS chief executive Andreas Furche told the media he was proud that the company had been targeted by Nasdaq OMX, as it reflected the quality of software the company has developed, and he is looking forward to the opportunity the takeover will provide to extend into new markets.

BRW

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