FRI Acquires North American Quotations
Acquisition creates full-service market data firm able to provide investment industry with real-time, intraday, and end-of-day equities and fixed income securities pricing and valuations
FRI becomes one of selected few North American data companies with full service data and software capabilities
NAQ's Front-end trading system augments FRI's asset management software products offering
Toronto, Ontario, April 2, 2003 - FRI Corporation, the investment management solutions company, today announced it has acquired North American Quotations, Inc. (NAQ). NAQ, based in London, Ontario, is a leading provider of real-time pricing of stocks, futures and options listed on all North American exchanges.
With the acquisition, FRI becomes one of only a few market data companies capable of providing real-time, intra-day, and end-of-day equities and fixed-income securities pricing and valuations.
"The combination of NAQ's real-time equities quote capabilities with FRI's globally recognized leadership in the area of fixed-income pricing will truly make us a full-service information provider to the investment industry," said Eligio Gaudio, FRI's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are also one of the only full-service market data providers who offer portfolio management and accounting systems solutions. And the addition of the RT Trader front-end trading tool increases our application software offerings too. We expect to be very competitive in our product offerings in terms of coverage, service, quality, and value," Mr. Gaudio said.
FRI and NAQ are privately held companies and did not disclose the terms of the transaction.
"We will be combining and integrating NAQ's and FRI's product offerings, and marketing and sales capabilities to create a larger, stronger, and broader organization for the benefit of our customers," said Mr. Gaudio. "We plan to retain all staff currently working for NAQ and to maintain its operations in London. Blair Doman, a founder of NAQ, will be retiring as President of the company, and we are pleased that he has agreed to join FRI's Board of Directors."
"Since founding NAQ in 1982" said Mr. Doman, "we have sought to provide our thousands of customers, ranging from investment funds and dealers to various types of corporations and individual investors, with access to the highest-quality market data available. Two years ago, NAQ made significant investments in our software and systems, converting our Ticker Plant to provide direct feeds from all of the North American markets and adding other capabilities. We are confident that by joining NAQ's capabilities with those of FRI we are creating a powerful organization that will be competitive in North America, and internationally, in serving the needs of the investment industry, non-financial corporations, and individual investors."
Jerry Bartlein, who has been a senior information services consultant to FRI Corporation, has been named Managing Director of NAQ with full responsibility for the FRI/NAQ integration. Mr. Bartlein has more than 25 years experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining FRI Jerry held senior positions with leading information services organizations where he has been responsible for everything from data operations to fixed income valuations.
About FRI Corporation
FRI Corporation, founded in 1968, is the investment management solutions company, serving more than 200 of the world's largest financial institutions as a leading provider of securities information services, asset, trading, and risk-management software solutions. FRI delivers reliable, scalable, flexible, and integrated solutions. This enables its customers in the global investment community to focus their market and customer intelligence, empower them to make informed decisions, and to reduce their cost of doing business in increasingly complex markets. All FRI products and services are STP ready and T+1 compliant. FRI application software solutions are available on a license and/or an ASP basis.
In addition to its Securities Information Services, FRI also offers full-featured STP ready global asset management solutions that provide comprehensive portfolio management, analytics, accounting, and reporting functionality. Modular and flexible in design, all of FRI's systems easily adjust to fit emerging requirements. Ease-of-use, outstanding client support, and adaptability mean that clients enjoy greater efficiency in a world where time is at a premium. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.fricorporation.com.
Toronto ............ Montréal ............ New York ............ San Francisco
Contact
Christina Carscallen
FRI Corporation
Vice-President, Marketing & Corporate Communications
416-598-9500 ex 160
Email: ccarscallen@fricorporation.com |
