Tampa, Florida – May 16, 2014 – Hyde Park Capital Advisors, LLC (“Hyde Park Capital”) is pleased to announce the sale of Bonds.com Group, Inc. (“BDCG”) (OTCPK:BDCG), a publicly traded company based in New York City, to MTS Markets International Inc. (“MTS”), part of the London Stock Exchange Group plc (“LSE”) (LSE:LSE). BDCG, through its subsidiary Bonds.com, Inc., operates an electronic trading platform for odd-lot fixed income securities. Hyde Park Capital served as the exclusive investment banker and financial advisor and rendered a Fairness Opinion to the Board of Directors of BDCG for this transaction.
George O’Krepkie, President of Bonds.com Inc., said “We are delighted to be teaming with MTS as we enter the next phase of growth and development. We believe that the trend towards greater electronic trading for fixed income products will continue as the customer base becomes increasingly global. MTS brings a wealth of experience in providing electronic platforms for fixed income trading, which will enable us to better serve our customers through increased product choice. We thank Hyde Park Capital for its help and advice while working with Bonds.com Group, Inc. throughout the process leading up to this important transaction for us.”
“The market for fixed income securities is clearly moving towards electronic trading,” said Jeffrey Bridge, Vice President at Hyde Park Capital. “Following the financial crisis in 2008-2009, broker-dealers have reduced their inventory of fixed income securities to improve their capital ratios, which has significantly reduced liquidity in the fixed income market. Traders are looking to electronic platforms to provide depth and liquidity to the fixed income marketplace, and Bonds.com, Inc. is well positioned to capture the growth as the fixed income markets shift to electronic trading. This was a very important transaction for the shareholders of Bonds.com and we are pleased we were able to facilitate a positive outcome for them.”
About Bonds.com Group, Inc.
BDCG’s wholly-owned subsidiary Bonds.com Inc., a FINRA registered Broker Dealer and ATS, offers access to live liquidity and execution through its web based electronic BondsPRO platform. BondsPRO provides professional traders over 70,000 live prices (with 65 million price updates daily) on 10,000 different issues from over 300 contributing counterparties. BondsPRO posts live, anonymous, and executable orders on a single bond or list basis, and permits price negotiation. Its all-to-all connectivity allows supply to meet demand, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing spread. More information about BDCG is available at www.bonds.com.
About MTS Markets International Inc.
MTS provides electronic fixed income trading services, providing the professional trading environment for the interdealer marketplace, enabling primary dealers from across the globe to access unparalleled liquidity, transparency and coverage. MTS customers benefit from its relationship with Europe’s leading diversified exchange business, the London Stock Exchange Group, which operates the largest and most liquid equity marketplace in Europe. More information about MTS may be obtained from its website at www.mtsmarkets.com.
About London Stock Exchange Group plc
LSE is a diversified international exchange Group that sits at the heart of the world’s financial community. LSE operates a broad range of international equity, bond and derivatives markets, including London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana, MTS, and the pan-European equities platform, Turquoise. Through its markets, LSE offers international business, and investors, unrivalled access to the capital markets. Further information about LSE may be obtained from its website at www.lseg.com.
About Hyde Park Capital
Hyde Park Capital is an institutionally focused investment banking firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions and private placements and serving the corporate finance needs of middle market public and private companies. Our principals have extensive investment banking experience executing merger & acquisition engagements, including purchase and sale of company assignments, recapitalizations, financial advisory, fairness opinions and raising growth capital and acquisition financing for companies, including equity, mezzanine and senior debt. As one of the most active investment banking firms in the Southeast, our professionals have advised on more than 300 corporate investment banking transactions totaling more than $10 billion in transaction value. We are headquartered in Tampa, Florida and are a member of FINRA and SIPC. For additional information about Hyde Park Capital, visit www.hydeparkcapital.com or call (813) 383-0202.
