(Reuters) – Institutional fixed-income trading platform providers Tradeweb and MarketAxess are among three bidders for BondDesk Group LLC in a deal that is expected to be valued up to $200 million, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters this week.
Tradeweb is viewed to be the lead bidder, according to one of the sources.
Private equity firm Advent International Corp tapped Broadhaven Capital Partners LLC to sell BondDesk several weeks ago, according to the sources, who wished to remain anonymous because they are not permitted to speak to the media.
It could not be determined who the third bidder was.
A call to Broadhaven was not immediately returned. BondDesk, Advent, MarketAxess and Tradeweb declined to comment.
BondDesk describes itself as the nation’s largest retail bond-trading venue.
For both Tradeweb, which is majority owned by Thomson Reuters, and MarketAxess, acquisition of BondDesk would enable them to begin catering to retail customers.
“This would allow them to expand their footprint into the retail market, which makes sense,” said Adam Sussman, a partner at Tabb Group, a research and advisory company.
Exchanges and trading platforms are constantly looking to broaden their offerings and customer bases to diversify their revenue streams. Earlier this year, Nasdaq OMX Group bought electronic Treasuries trading platform eSpeed from BGC Partners for $750 million in cash.
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