(Bloomberg) — Global Trading Systems LLC said it agreed to purchase Barclays Plcs business at the New York Stock Exchange floor, meaning high-speed trading firms now manage buying and selling of nearly all securities there.
Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, werent disclosed in a statement released Tuesday. GTS will now oversee trading for more than 1,200 securities at the NYSE, including Exxon Mobil Corp., Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Twitter Inc.
NYSE floor trading is managed by so-called designated market makers, whose job is to help ensure trading is orderly for the stocks they handle. One of their main roles is making sure stocks start trading every day — something that came into focus during the haywire trading session on Aug. 24. GTS is joining three other automated firms there: Virtu Financial Inc., KCG Holdings Inc. and IMC. Though these firms are largely automated, they do have a human touch: people help manage trading at the floor.
What we think is unique and special about NYSE is there is a human responsible, Ari Rubenstein, chief executive officer of GTS, said in a phone interview. Theres a pilot there.
There used to be dozens of specialist firms, as designated market makers were once known, at the NYSE floor. But profits from trading U.S. stocks dwindled, making it difficult for anyone other than the most automated firms to serve as market makers.
Barclays grew the business through acquisitions, purchasing LaBranche & Co.s more than 100-year-old division in 2010 for $25 million and buying Bear Wagner Specialists from JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 2009 for an undisclosed amount.
The importance of the NYSE floor has diminished. Less than 15 percent of U.S. stock trading volume takes place at the exchange.
