Nasdaq deepens fintech push with $10.5-B Adenza deal

Nasdaq said on Monday it has agreed to buy financial software firm Adenza from private-equity firm Thoma Bravo for $10.5 billion in a cash and stock deal as the exchange operator tries to reposition itself as a financial technology company.

The deal, comprising $5.75 billion in cash and 85.6 million shares of Nasdaq common stock, is expected to help growth at the stock exchange operator, which is trying to diversify under chief executive officer Adena Friedman.

Nasdaq said it intends to issue about 14.5 percent of its outstanding shares to the owners of Adenza, which is controlled by Thoma Bravo.

Adenza, which makes software used by banks and brokerages, is expected to hit about $590 million in annual 2023 revenue, Nasdaq said.

The exchange operator also said it has received fully committed bridge financing for the cash part of the transaction, and plans to issue about $5.9 billion of debt between the signing and the closing of the deal, expected within six to nine months.

Nasdaq shares were down 1.4 percent in premarket trading on the news.