ETFS Capital acquires ETF.com from Cboe Global Markets

LONDON and CHICAGO, Feb. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ETFS Capital, a strategic investment company, today announced it has acquired the business of ETF.com, one of the world's leading authorities on ETF news, analysis and education, from Cboe Global Markets (Cboe), a market operator and global trading solutions provider.

ETF.com was founded in 2001 with a mission to deliver clear, independent and authoritative exchange traded fund (ETF) news, analysis and education to help participants make better investment decisions. When Cboe (previously Bats) acquired ETF.com in 2016, its goal was to help retail investors and advisors understand the benefits of ETFs through best-in-class educational content. Under Cboe's ownership, ETF.com expanded its multimedia business with webinars, events, videos and podcasts, growing its readership and solidifying ETF.com as a leading media platform serving the wider ETF industry.

The global ETF industry continues to grow rapidly, reaching a record U.S. $8 trillion in assets under management (AUM) across more than 6,500 ETFs by the end of 2020 (source: ULTUMUS). ETF.com has evolved in tandem with the growing choice and complexity of the ETF market, offering participants the resources and tools needed to keep pace with this fast-growing market.

Graham Tuckwell, Chairman, ETFS Capital, said: "The ongoing record growth of the global ETF industry is an incredible opportunity for an industry-leading resource like ETF.com. All participants want more effective and innovative ways to share, analyse and understand the evolution of the global ETF industry, so we are acquiring and further investing in ETF.com to make this a reality." Tuckwell added: "ETF.com is also expected to benefit from the related businesses and expertise across our portfolio, covering data, analytics, index services and front office technology amongst others, to help unlock further innovation opportunities."

Created by ETF industry veterans and chaired by Graham Tuckwell, an ETF industry pioneer and founder of ETF Securities, ETFS Capital is focused on growth opportunities across the investment ecosystem. ETF.com joins its portfolio alongside ETF Stream, the leading European ETF website, and AltFi, the market-leading website for the global fintech community.

Laura Morrison, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Listings, Cboe Global Markets, said: "We are thrilled to have ETF.com join the ETFS Capital group. Cboe is a passionate champion for the global ETF industry and we believe the innovative thinking, deep experience and planned investment from ETFS Capital in the business and people of ETF.com will not only grow this journalistic enterprise into a global media brand, but also benefit the ETF industry as a whole. Cboe plans to continue offering ETF.com's excellent resources and marketing services to our listings and trading clients as its global footprint broadens." Morrison added: "This deal also creates the opportunity for related collaboration between Cboe and ETFS Capital over time." 

Drew Voros, Editor-in-Chief of ETF.com, said: "We are excited to join the ETFS Capital group, which shares both Cboe and ETF.com's commitment to growing the ETP space through analysis, news coverage, education and data. Over the years, ETF.com has benefitted from Cboe's strengths as one of the leading and fastest growing marketplaces for ETPs to expand our readership, voice and presence globally. We look forward to having ETFS Capital's support in our continued success and creating a new relationship with Cboe to serve the ETF investing community."

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is immaterial from a financial perspective for Cboe Global Markets.

To learn more about ETF.com, visit www.etf.com.

About ETFS Capital
ETFS Capital is a strategic investment company focused on growth opportunities across the investment ecosystem.

Created by ETF industry veterans and chaired by Graham Tuckwell, an ETF industry pioneer and founder of ETF Securities. In 2018 ETF Securities sold its European and North American asset management businesses to WisdomTree, Legal & General Investment Management and Aberdeen Standard and became ETFS Capital.

We provide more than just capital to our investee firms. By utilising our experience of building and exiting successful companies, we actively support their growth and development. Tailored to their individual needs, we also provide strategic advice, operational guidance and access to our growing network. For qualifying investee firms, there is also the possibility of NextStage, our exclusive shared workspace in London.

Today, our purpose is to discover and empower the innovation-led companies driving change, typically technology-enabled, and help them become tomorrow's leaders.

Media contact: Caspar Robson +44 7887 854081 caspar.robson@etfscapital.com

About Cboe Global Markets, Inc.
Cboe Global Markets (Cboe: CBOE) provides cutting-edge trading and investment solutions to market participants around the world. The company is committed to defining markets through product innovation, leading edge technology and seamless trading solutions.

The company offers trading across a diverse range of products in multiple asset classes and geographies, including options, futures, U.S., Canadian and European equities, exchange-traded products (ETPs), global foreign exchange (FX) and volatility products based on the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX Index), recognized as the world's premier gauge of U.S. equity market volatility.

Cboe's subsidiaries include the largest options exchange and the third largest stock exchange operator in the U.S. In addition, the company operates one of the largest stock exchanges by value traded in Europe, and owns EuroCCP, a leading pan-European equities clearing house. Cboe also is a leading market globally for ETP listings and trading.    

The company is headquartered in Chicago with a network of domestic and global offices across the Americas, Europe and Asia, including main hubs in New York, London, Kansas City and Amsterdam. For more information, visit www.cboe.com.

All information in this press release concerning ETFS Capital, including its expectations and plans with respect to ETF.com, has been provided by ETFS Capital. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates have no knowledge of or responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information.

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates do not recommend or make any representation as to possible benefits from any ETFs, securities, futures or investments, or third-party products or services. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. is not affiliated with ETFS Capital, ETF securities, ETF Stream or Altfi Investors should undertake their own due diligence regarding their ETFs, securities, futures and investment practices. This press release speaks only as of this date. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. disclaims any duty to update the information herein.

Nothing in this announcement should be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell any ETFs, securities or futures in any jurisdiction where the offer or solicitation would be unlawful under the laws of such jurisdiction. Nothing contained in this communication constitutes tax, legal or investment advice. Investors must consult their tax adviser or legal counsel for advice and information concerning their particular situation.

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its affiliates make no warranty, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, any warranties as of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness or timeliness, the results to be obtained by recipients of the products, information and services described herein, and shall not in any way be liable for any inaccuracies or errors..

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "may," "might," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or "continue," and the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology. All statements that reflect our expectations, assumptions or projections about the future other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us, may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

We operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all risks and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include: the impact of the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19") pandemic, including changes to trading behavior broadly in the market as well as due to the temporary suspension of open outcry trading in response to COVID-19; the loss of our right to exclusively list and trade certain index options and futures products; economic, political and market conditions; compliance with legal and regulatory obligations; price competition and consolidation in our industry; decreases in trading or clearing volumes, market data fees or a shift in the mix of products traded on our exchanges; legislative or regulatory changes; our ability to protect our systems and communication networks from security risks, cybersecurity risks, insider threats and unauthorized disclosure of confidential information; increasing competition by foreign and domestic entities; our dependence on and exposure to risk from third parties; fluctuations to currency exchange rates; our index providers' ability to maintain the quality and integrity of their indices and to perform under our agreements; our ability to operate our business without violating the intellectual property rights of others and the costs associated with protecting our intellectual property rights; our ability to attract and retain skilled management and other personnel; our ability to accommodate trading and clearing volume and transaction traffic, including significant increases, without failure or degradation of performance of our systems; misconduct by those who use our markets or our products or for whom we clear transactions; challenges to our use of open source software code; our ability to meet our compliance obligations, including managing potential conflicts between our regulatory responsibilities and our for-profit status; damage to our reputation; the ability of our compliance and risk management methods to effectively monitor and manage our risks; our ability to manage our growth and strategic acquisitions or alliances effectively; restrictions imposed by our debt obligations and our ability to make payments on or refinance our debt obligations; our ability to maintain an investment grade credit rating; impairment of our goodwill, long-lived assets, investments or intangible assets; and the accuracy of our estimates and expectations. More detailed information about factors that may affect our actual results to differ may be found in our filings with the SEC, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and other filings made from time to time with the SEC.

We do not undertake, and we expressly disclaim, any duty to update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

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