Found this interesting because other internet boards were mentioning rumors of a Paul Allen/Datek interest in ASTN yesterday.
CEO of ASTN a founder of Instinet, as is the CEO of Optimark.
Sotbank rumored to be investing 100 Mil in EGRP, as reported in the WSJ. They already have an interest in Etrade.
Friday July 2, 4:06 am Eastern Time
Softbank to make investment in
OptiMark - WSJ
NEW YORK, July 2 (Reuters) - Japan's Softbank Corp . is
planning a major investment in the OptiMark trading
system, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the paper said
Softbank is expected to invest between $75 million and
$100 million in the Jersey City, N.J.-based OptiMark
Technologies Inc., a closely held company known for its ''black box'' system for
matching large institutional stock trades.
On Thursday, Softbank, one of the world's biggest Internet investors, formed
separate ventures with News Corp's new high-tech investment firm, epartners, and
Vivendi, a French conglomerate that has become a major player in European media.
How and when the money would be invested couldn't be determined, according to the
paper. But barring unexpected obstacles, it would be among Softbank's largest
technology investments to date.
In response to the article, a Softbank spokesman in Tokyo told Reuters: ''We cannot
confirm or deny the story, but it appears to be merely speculative.''
William Lupien, chairman of Jersey City, N.J.-based OptiMark, said, ''We are in the
process of raising $100 million and we will be announcing something shortly, but we
can't say anything beyond that. Nothing is a done deal until it's done,'' the
Journal reported. |
