EEX buys 100% of Cleartrade Exchange
The European Energy Exchange, a leading player in the European power, gas and emissions markets, is stepping up its presence in Asian commodity markets. The Leipzig based exchange, the commodity markets arm of Deutsche Börse Group, closed a deal in April that will give it 100% ownership of Cleartrade Exchange, a Singapore-based trading platform that specializes in derivatives based on freight, fuel oil and iron ore.
Cleartrade was established in 2010 by Freight Investor Holdings, a leading brokerage in the freight business. The exchange is regulated by the Singapore authorities and offers both central limit order book trading and trade registration. Cleartrade also provides a conduit for clearing and has links with three clearinghouses: LCH, Nasdaq OMX and Singapore Exchange.
In January 2014 EEX bought a majority stake in the exchange, and in April it increased its stake to 100% by buying out FIH.
“With this transaction we are taking a further important step towards the expansion of EEX Group beyond Europe and beyond the energy sector,” said Peter Reitz, the chief executive officer of EEX. “We are committed to further promote the development of these markets for the long term. To this end, we will work to reinforce our cooperation with the traders, brokers and clearinghouse partners that actively operate on the Cleartrade Exchange markets.”
As part of the transaction, EEX appointed Egbert Laege as the chief executive officer of Cleartrade in addition to his function as the head of Powernext, the electricity spot market operated by EEX. CLTX will retain its headquarters in Singapore, and Ray Zhirui Ang, one of Cleartrade’s founders, will serve as chief operating officer.
