Market Maker GTS Buys Foreign-Exchange Trading Unit From HC Tech

Electronic market maker GTS is expanding its presence in foreign exchange through a deal with algorithmic trading firm HC Technologies.

(Bloomberg) — Electronic market maker GTS is expanding its presence in foreign exchange through a deal with algorithmic trading firm HC Technologies.

GTS acquired HC Tech’s foreign-exchange trading assets this month, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. As part of the transaction, about 50 HC Tech workers will join GTS, increasing the size of the New York-based firm to almost 400 employees, the people said. The value of the transaction couldn’t immediately be learned.

Representatives for GTS and HC Technologies, based in Chicago, declined to comment.

The deal expands GTS’s presence as a market maker, executing trades between buyers and sellers of various asset classes. The firm offers trading in equities, futures, options, fixed income and exchange-traded funds. It’s also on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as a designated market maker, where it assists public companies with their opening and closing prices, as well as the launches of initial public offerings.

GTS is betting on momentum in foreign-exchange market making. The FX market has seen massive growth since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as geopolitical tensions, rising commodity prices and interest-rate volatility drive trading volumes. The recent war in Israel is only adding to the global uncertainty, with traders looking to calculate new or impending risks.

HC Tech, which has an affiliated private equity arm that will continue to operate on its own, specializes in foreign-exchange trading. Cary Rosenwald, who runs the FX trading division, has joined GTS, along with others who operate the HC Tech FX trading marketplace, the people said.

Market making, in which timing and technology is used to determine the best price, is an increasingly competitive business. Firms have turned to electronic trading, using algorithms and software to process trades quickly. Citadel Securities, Susquehanna International Group and Virtu Financial Inc. are among the largest market makers in the US, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

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