By Business & Finance First Derivatives increases its stake in Kx Systems in a landmark deal.
First Derivatives, a provider of software and consulting services to the financial services industry, today announced it has reached agreement with the founders of Kx Systems (Kx) to acquire a further 46.47% stake in Kx for a total consideration of £36.0m. As a result First Derivatives’ holding in Kx will increase from its current 20.1% to 65.2% on a fully diluted basis.
Kx, based in Palo Alto, California, is one of the world’s leading Big Data vendors. Its principal product, kdb+, is widely acknowledged as the world’s pre-eminent time series database. As well as leading exchanges, regulators, and hedge funds, Kx lists nine of the top 10 global investment banks as its customers.
Brian Conlon, chief executive officer of First Derivatives, commented: “Having worked closely with the team at Kx Systems for more than a decade, First Derivatives understands the power and value of kdb+. Together we look forward to exploiting its capabilities to its full potential as we further penetrate the financial services sector and to build upon the foothold that has been established in other vertical sectors. We intend to make significant investments in Kx to allow the founders and their team to scale the company whilst staying true to its heritage. Transformational is a term often overused in the technology industry, but in this case I can confidently use it to describe the impact this transaction will have on our collective prospects.”
