Contact: Scott Denne
OANDA is picking up Currensee Global, a company that enables foreign exchange (forex) traders to mimic the trades of other traders, in the third recent deal in the forex market. Increasing regulatory burdens are driving the latest spate of sector consolidation.
Regulations in Asia, the US and Europe, such as limitations on leverage, the Dodd-Frank Act’s implementation of ‘first in, first out’ policies and the looming ban on the use of credit cards, have made it cumbersome for smaller vendors in this market to expand. That’s left a lot of them seeking a larger suitor with greater resources capable of managing stringent compliance issues. OANDA and its two main rivals have been happy to help.
Recently, FXCM and GAIN Capital also reached for new businesses. FXCM on Monday announced that it has taken a majority stake in Faros Trading to help bolster its institutional business. And yesterday, GAIN Capital closed its $108m purchase of Global Futures & Forex. The deal, announced in April, was done to expand GAIN’s international reach. Terms of OANDA’s and FXCM’s transactions were not disclosed, but we believe the Currensee acquisition to be small as the company had 25 employees.
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