Miami International Holdings Completes Equity Investment in MidChains' Parent Holding Company

Parent company of the MIAX Exchange Group joins Mubadala Investment Company and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office in MidChains' latest funding round.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates and PRINCETON, New Jersey, July 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH), the parent holding company of the MIAX Options^®, MIAX PEARL^® and MIAX Emerald^™ options exchanges (the MIAX Exchange Group^™), today announced the completion of a minority equity investment in MEEG Holdings Limited, the parent holding company of MidChains, an upcoming digital asset trading exchange. The parties have also agreed to pursue joint technology licensing and product listing opportunities internationally.

"We are excited by the prospect of MidChains becoming one of the first regulated exchanges for virtual asset trading and investing, as it aligns with our ambitions to scale our business globally in areas including digital assets," said Thomas P. Gallagher, Chairman and CEO of MIH. "We have no doubt that MIH and MidChains will become long-term, value-added partners pursuing technology licensing and product listing opportunities throughout the world."

Based in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), MidChains is seeking to provide one of the world's first fully regulated and supervised ecosystem infrastructures for virtual asset trading and investing under the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) regulatory framework. MidChains is expected to launch trading operations in 2020, subject to FSRA approval.

MidChains has also secured further investments by Mubadala Investment Company, who was the first external investor in the company in 2019, the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), and other notable regional investors.

"There has been significant interest in MidChains since we made our initial investment in 2019," said Ibrahim Ajami, Head of Ventures, Mubadala Capital. "We are therefore pleased to increase our commitment ahead of the launch of MidChains' virtual asset trading platform, which is expected later this year. A key tenet of our strategy is to establish strong, enduring partnerships and we look forward to supporting MidChains build global operations from its headquarters in Abu Dhabi."

ADIO has invested through its Ventures Fund, an initiative of the Ghadan 21 accelerator programme created to support innovation-focused startups in Abu Dhabi. H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director-General of ADIO, said, "Abu Dhabi continues to grow as a FinTech hub, laying the foundation for exciting technology developments in the emirate and across the region. MidChains' mission of becoming one of the first fully regulated exchanges in its field is aligned with ADIO's belief in supporting companies with innovation at their core. We have invested in MidChains as part of our commitment to ensure that promising startups are given the help they need to take off and grow in Abu Dhabi, providing them with capital and support to develop cutting-edge solutions of global and regional significance."

"We are thrilled to welcome MIH as an investor and business partner," said Basil Al Askari, co-founder and CEO of MidChains. "We have always looked at the MIH's business model as a benchmark in the industry and we are grateful for their support and belief in our vision, and we look forward to leveraging MIH's expertise and extensive breadth of resources to help position the MidChains platform for long-term success and shape our future growth. We also welcome ADIO as an investor and trusted partner, whom alongside Mubadala and MIH form a group of world class shareholders with a wealth of experience, further enabling us to build a global business out of Abu Dhabi."

"Our partnership with MidChains will support both parties in introducing innovative and unique products globally. We look forward to working together with MidChains to explore untapped growth opportunities," added John Smollen, Executive Vice President and Head of Exchange Traded Products and Strategic Relations at MIH.

For further information regarding MidChains, please visit www.midchains.com.

For further information regarding MIH and the MIAX Exchange Group, please visit www.MIAXOptions.com or contact MIAX Trading Operations at TradingOperations@MIAXOptions.com. 

Corporate Communications Contact:        
Natalie Kay, Karma Agency
nkay@karmaagency.com
215-790-7806                     

About MidChains

MidChains is an upcoming institutional crypto asset trading venue and custodian based in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) seeking to operate under the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) regulatory framework. The exchange seeks to provide one of the world's first fully regulated and supervised ecosystem infrastructures for digital asset trading and investing (crypto assets, security tokens, stable coins) with a membership and direct access public exchange.

About MIH

Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH) is the parent holding company of Miami International Securities Exchange, LLC (MIAX^®), MIAX PEARL, LLC (MIAX PEARL^®) and MIAX Emerald, LLC (MIAX Emerald™ and together with MIAX and MIAX PEARL, the MIAX Exchange Group™), three fully electronic options trading exchanges. MIH also owns a controlling interest in the Bermuda Stock Exchange.  

MIAX, MIAX PEARL and MIAX Emerald leverage the MIAX Exchange Group's industry-leading technology and infrastructure to provide their member firms with traditional pricing and pro rata allocation (MIAX), maker-taker pricing and price-time allocation (MIAX PEARL) market structures, and a hybrid market structure with maker-taker pricing and pro rata allocation (MIAX Emerald).

MIAX Options serves as the exclusive exchange venue for cash-settled options on the SPIKES^® Volatility Index (Ticker: SPIKE), a measure of the expected 30-day volatility in the SPDR^® S&P 500^® ETF (SPY).

The MIAX Exchange Group's executive offices and National Operations Center are located in Princeton, NJ, with additional offices located in Miami, FL.

To learn more about MIH and the MIAX Exchange Group visit www.MIAXOptions.com.

About Mubadala Investment Company

Mubadala Investment Company is a sovereign investor managing a global portfolio, aimed at generating sustainable financial returns for its shareholder, the Government of Abu Dhabi.

Mubadala's US $229 billion portfolio spans five continents with interests in multiple sectors including aerospace, ICT, semiconductors, metals and mining, renewable energy, oil and gas, petrochemicals, utilities, healthcare, real estate, pharmaceuticals and medical technology, agribusiness and a global portfolio of financial holdings across all asset classes.

Mubadala Capital was established in 2011 as the asset management arm of Mubadala, operating six integrated businesses focused on various asset classes and geographies that include private equity, public equities, credit, ventures, sovereign investment partnerships and Brazil. The unit invests globally across the capital structure in both public and private securities.

In addition to managing its own balance sheet investments, Mubadala Capital manages third party capital on behalf of institutional investors in four of its businesses, including through three private equity funds, two early stage venture funds and the Brazil special opportunities fund. 

In 2017, Mubadala Capital launched a $400mn US-focused venture fund out of San Francisco. In 2019, it launched a €400mn European-focused venture fund based out of London and a $100m MENA-based fund based out of Hub71 in Abu Dhabi. In addition to the direct investment funds, the ventures platform also manages a global fund of funds programs focused in US, Europe and MENA.

About the Abu Dhabi Investment Office

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) is the central government hub supporting private sector investment in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. ADIO enables opportunities for domestic and foreign investors aligned with Abu Dhabi's economic priorities. ADIO provides Investor Care services to help the establishment and ongoing growth of businesses in Abu Dhabi and offers a range of targeted programmes, including competitive cash and non-cash incentives and public-private partnerships.

To learn more about ADIO visit www.investinabudhabi.ae.

Media Contact: Bonny Lawrie, bllawrie@adio.ae, +971503513880

Disclaimer and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities of Miami International Holdings, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, the Company) or MEEG Holdings Limited (together with MidChains, MEEG), and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer; solicitation or sale would be unlawful. This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. 

All third-party trademarks (including logos and icons) referenced by the Company or MEEG remain the property of their respective owners. Unless specifically identified as such, the Company's or MEEG's use of third-party trademarks does not indicate any relationship, sponsorship, or endorsement between the owners of these trademarks and the Company or the MEEG. Any references by the Company or MEEG to third-party trademarks is to identify the corresponding third-party goods and/or services and shall be considered nominative fair use under the trademark law.