The Goldman Sachs Group today announced the sale of a majority equity interest in REDI, a provider of electronic trading tools.
The consortium of buyers includes BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citadel and Lightyear Capital. Goldman Sachs is retaining a significant minority equity stake in the company. It did not disclose the amount of the stake.
Terms of the sale and official closing date were not disclosed.
Goldman acquired the REDI electronic trading software business with its $7 billion acquisition of electronic market maker Spear Leeds & Kellogg in 2000.
The majority sale establishes REDI as an independent financial technology company. REDI’s strength is its technology and its most notable offering is the REDIPlus execution management system.
The consortium of investors enhances REDI’s business by providing a broad range of benefits to the marketplace through an expanded broker network, broad cross-asset capabilities, expansive global coverage and industry-leading customer service, according to Goldman Sachs.
“We are pleased to assemble an impressive consortium of market-leading participants to support the further growth of the REDI business and expand its reach to more clients, geographies and asset classes,” said Darren Cohen, global co-head of Principal Strategic Investments at Goldman Sachs said in a release. “The new independent REDI is a strategic initiative for Goldman Sachs and the firm is committed to its future success as a separate, multi-dealer platform.”
Rishi Nangalia, who previously co-managed the Goldman Sachs Electronic Trading Business Development group, will serve as REDI’s chief executive.
REDI’s new headquarters are located in New York City, supported by five regional offices in Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, London and Hong Kong. The core product, technology, sales and support teams associated with the REDI business will continue to manage and invest in the platform under the new ownership structure.
The name REDI was derived from the Rapid Execution Dot Interface used in the product’s early years.
