IEX, the upstart equity dark pool that were pained as the heroes of Michael Lewis’ blockbuster “Flash Boys” on the evils of hogh frequency trading, is looking to become a full fledged exchange.
The Wall Street Journal reports that IEX CEO Brad Katsuyama and his team are seeing money to move beyond a buyside dark pool that adds latency to thwart high-speed traders in an attempt to level the playing field.
The WSJ adds:
The firm is in talks with potential investors to raise millions of dollars to expand its operations and pay for the increased regulatory costs of becoming a full-fledged exchange, according to people familiar with the talks. At present, IEX is a “dark pool,” a lightly regulated, private trading venue.
IEX could fetch a valuation of $200 million to $300 million, although the numbers could change because the discussions are continuing, the people say. That valuation is high for a company that has only been fully operational since October and controls just a tiny percentage of stock trading the U.S.
The WSJ adds that IEX is in talks with potential investors from “hedge funds, private-equity groups and asset managers, according to people familiar with the talks.”
[Meet IEX’s latest hire: Sophia Lee. A Traders Exlcusive.]
