It was a very busy week of M&A activity in the Retail FX and CFDs brokerage business, with a number of transactions seen involving (mainly) Australia based brokers.
But also in the executive news realm there were new CEOs, new CMOs, and several senior management changes in the MENA region.
Which Australia based broker is Axi trying to buy?
Which South Africa CFDs broker is ACY acquiring, along with its FSCA license?
Which Australia based CFDs broker is crypto company Crypto.com buying?
Who led a multimillion dollar investment round in BrokerTech provider oneZero?
Who’s in charge after Capital.com Global CEO Kypros Zoumidou stepped down?
What other executive moves were seen at Finalto, CFI, Pepperstone, Britannia, Match-Prime, and Saxo Bank?
Some of the most read and commented-on FX/CFD industry news stories to appear over the past seven days on FNG included:
Axi bids AUD $52M to buy Australia low-cost broker SelfWealth. Leading Australia based Retail FX and CFDs broker Axi is looking to expand in its home market, with its parent company AxiCorp Financial Services Pty Ltd making a bid to buy publicly traded SelfWealth Ltd (ASX:SWF), which bills itself as Australia’s most popular low-cost trading platform.
ACY Securities expands to South Africa acquiring Ingot Brokers SA. Australia based Retail FX and CFDs broker ACY Securities has announced it has successfully acquired Ingot Brokers South Africa. The acquisition comes with an FSCA license, authorises ACY Securities to provide financial services in terms of section 8 of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act. Ingot Brokers is an offshore broker operated (mainly) from Jordan and Cyprus, but formally domiciled in Seychelles. The group also operates an ASIC-licensed business in Australia.
Crypto.com buys ASIC licensed CFDs broker Fintek expanding Australia presence. Singapore based crypto exchange operator Crypto.com has taken steps to expand in the Australia markets, announcing the acquisition of Fintek Securities Pty Ltd, an MT5 based CFDs broker that holds an Australia Financial Services License, regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
oneZero gets growth capital investment from Golden Gate Capital. Trading tech solutions provider oneZero Financial Systems has announced a new investment from Golden Gate Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm. oneZero’s current financial partner, Lovell Minnick Partners (LMP), will continue to support oneZero alongside Golden Gate Capital. The parties did not disclose the size of the investment, or the ownership percentage of oneZero acquired by Golden Gate Capital.
CEO change at Capital.com as company pursues regional structure. Leading Retail FX and CFDs broker Capital.com has announced a new regional leadership model, to better support rapid growth and innovation across key markets in which it is regulated. After almost three years of dedicated service as CEO of the UK and Cyprus companies and, latterly, as Global Group CEO, Kypros Zoumidou will step down from his role.
Top FX industry executive moves reported at FNG this week included:
❑ Former BUX UK / Stryk CEO Salim Sebbata joins Capital.com to head M&A.
❑ Andrew Biggs appointed CEO of Finalto Trading.
❑ CFI names Ahmad Khatib to head BizDev, Ziad Melhem as CMO.
❑ Exclusive: Pepperstone hires Anna Rodionova as Global Brand Manager.
❑ Exclusive: Britannia Chair Andrew Bole steps down.
❑ Exclusive: Match-Prime / Match-Trade Dubai office head Ahmed Fouad departs.
❑ Finalto appoints Luis dos Santos as Sales Director for Latin America.
❑ Britannia (re)hires Neil Welsh as Head of Metals.
❑ Saxo appoints Damian Hitchen as Regional Head of APAC and MENA, Mahesh Sethuraman as Singapore CEO.
