US exchange BATS to buy Chi-X Europe

BATS Global Markets, a leading US stock exchange operator, has agreed to buy Chi-X Europe, creating a major pan-European trading center, the companies said in a statement Friday.
The combined company will be the largest center in Europe in terms of market share and the value of assets traded, they said.
"Financial terms will not be disclosed for the transaction, under which Chi-X Europe and BATS Europe will combine to form BATS Chi-X Europe," said Kansas-based BATS, the number-three US markets operator, and Chi-X Europe, Europe's second-largest trading platform.
The companies, which had been in exclusive takeover talks since December, said the acquisition was expected to close in the second quarter of 2011, provided it receives certain regulatory approvals.
A fast-moving surge of merger and acquisition activity in the global securities and derivatives exchange sector has spurred speculation that other tie-ups are in the works.
Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext unveiled Tuesday their merger deal that would forge the world's biggest exchange by revenues and a powerhouse in derivatives trading.
The London Stock Exchange Group said it would merge with its Toronto counterpart, TMX Group, to create the world's biggest trading platform and dominate raw materials and energy.
On Thursday, Fox Business Network reported of a "possible partnership" between the tech-rich Nasdaq and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), specialized in raw materials and derivatives.
Fox said the discussions had reached "a critical stage" and that Nasdaq had hired Bank of America "to look at possible deals."