LSE and Canada's TMX to merge and share their Linux-based trading systems

The London Stock Exchange has announced that it is to merge with the TMX Group Inc., its equivalent in Canada. The merger reflects a general global trend toward consolidation of exchanges in search of increased efficiencies. In the case of the LSE, a key component in its efficiency drive is its forthcoming move to the Linux-based trading platform, Millennium Exchange, from MillenniumIT.

The new company formed from the merger of LSE and TMX has not yet announced its IT plans, but during the last three years, TMX has also been implementing its open source trading platform, Quantum, running on Red Hat Linux and Unix. There will clearly be a merging and sharing of technologies between the two companies. In 2009, in order to help develop its derivatives trading, the LSE replaced its existing system derivatives trading system with the TMX group's SOLA system. The announcement of the new merger stated that there would be "access across the [new] company to the cutting-edge SOLA derivatives trading platform and MillenniumIT assets".

MillenniumIT was set up back in 1996 to provide software for trading platforms for the international capital markets industry. Based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, MillenniumIT was later purchased by the London Stock Exchange Group for $30 million..

See also:

• Johannesburg Stock Exchange to move to Linux, a report from The H.
• London Stock Exchange will move to Linux, a report from The H.

(ehe)