Nasdaq (NDAQ), the U.S. financial services company that operates its namesake stock exchange, is buying privately held financial software firm Adenza for $10.5 billion U.S. in cash and stock.
The deal comes as the Nasdaq exchange operator tries to diversify its operations and reposition itself as a financial technology company.
The acquisition breaks down as $5.75 billion U.S. in cash and 85.6 million shares of Nasdaq common stock.
Nasdaq said it intends to issue 14.5% of its outstanding shares to the owners of Adenza, which is controlled by private equity firm Thoma Bravo.
Adenza makes software used by banks and brokerages and is expected to earn $590 million U.S. in revenue this year, according to Nasdaq.
The stock exchange operator said it has received fully committed bridge financing for the cash part of the transaction and plans to issue about $5.9 billion U.S. of debt to close the deal, which is expected within nine months.
Nasdaq’s stock has risen 18% over the past 12 months to $57.83 U.S. per share.
