Tradeweb Targets Corporates with ICD Buy

Fixed income trading platform Tradeweb Markets has entered into a definitive agreement to buy Institutional Cash Distributors, a technology company providing access to short-term investments for corporate treasuries, for $785 million

Tradeweb says the move adds a fourth client channel for the firm, alongside its institutional, wholesale and retail businesses, adding the deal adds “a new and fast-growing client channel serving corporate treasury professionals”.

ICD claims more than 500 corporate treasury organisations on its client roster and says it is one of the largest money market fund providers in the sector with daily balances in excess of $230 billion. It enables clients to research, trade, analyse, and report on investments across more than 40 available investment providers primarily offering money market funds and access to other short term products including deposits, fixed term funds and separately managed accounts (SMAs). The firm also offers portfolio analytics in a cloud solution for aggregating positions across a corporate treasury’s entire portfolio for analysis and reporting.

ICD’s CEO Tory Hazard will report to Tradeweb president Thomas Pluta and join Tradeweb’s operating committee upon completion of the deal.

Tradeweb says as part of the company ICD will provide a solution for corporate treasurers and asset managers to manage short-term liquidity needs and FX risk, as well as optimise yield and duration via Tradeweb’s existing suite of products. It adds that ICD clients will retain the ability to fully integrate their workflows with third-party treasury management and accounting systems and ICD’s portfolio analytics solution. In addition to opportunities to cross-sell Tradeweb’s products to ICD’s clients, Tradeweb says it will aim to accelerate ICD’s growth and expansion by offering money market funds to Tradeweb’s existing network of clients.

“ICD is an exceptional opportunity to acquire a leading investment platform for corporate treasurers, a fast-growing channel within fixed income markets and a strong strategic fit for Tradeweb,” says Billy Hult, CEO of Tradeweb. “Acquiring ICD will further diversify our client and business mix, advancing our track record of expanding into adjacent markets to improve client workflows. As part of Tradeweb, ICD will also be positioned to drive the adoption of electronic trading for corporate treasurers.”