High frequency trading specialist and market maker Getco has entered into a deal to buy Bank of America’s NYSE market making business, Reuters reports.
The acquisition will see Getco jums from being the smallest to the second largest NYSE-designated market maker, only lagging behind Barclays. The enlarged company will take responsibility for trades in roughly 850 securities and 650 companies, including Coca-Cola, McDonalds and General Electric.
Founded in 1999, Getco began operating on the NYSE in 2010 after buying rights to 350 stocks from Barclays. The sale by Bank of America is part of a series the organisation is making in order to comply with new international capital standards.
The acquisition will reduce the number of designated market makers on the NYSE to just four, with Goldman Sachs and Knight Capital Group making up the numbers. The consolidation highlights NYSE’s continuing shift towards an electronic trading model.
Though exact terms of the deal have not been announced it is expected to be completed by mid-December.