ICAP to introduce new premium connectivity service through partnership with Equinix

ICAP plc (IAP.L), the world’s premier interdealer broker, and Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the leading provider of network-neutral data centers and Internet exchange services, today announced the introduction of a new premium ICAP connectivity service for financial market participants trading in North America. The new service, i-Cross, will provide a high-bandwidth, low latency connection to both ICAP’s BrokerTec and EBS platforms from a common data center for the first time. The i-Cross service will be available before the end of the year. The new service will facilitate the hosting of customers’ equipment and network connectivity within two of Equinix’s Internet Business Exchange™ (IBX®) centers in the New York region, ensuring the fastest possible data exchange platform. i-Cross will be available to all customers trading benchmark US Treasuries on the BrokerTec platform and to all customers trading on the EBS platform via its Spot Ai trading application in North America.

Customers will also have access to ICAP’s market data solutions, including EBS Live – a premium product of real-time streaming prices, delivered direct from the EBS platform to the customer’s market data distribution platform – and the BO23 broadcast, which provides full order depth on the BrokerTec platform.

Ed Brown, Head of Business Development and Research, ICAP Electronic Broking said: “Financial institutions are increasingly looking for high-speed, low-latency access options that meet the demands of their changing trading strategies. By working together with Equinix to offer this premium connectivity service, we are offering our customers greatly enhanced access to both the EBS and BrokerTec platforms. For the first time, customers will be able to connect to both platforms from a common data center.”

“Equinix’s network-rich centers will provide a high-performance connectivity platform for ICAP customers as they seek the fastest and most reliable links to ICAP’s BrokerTec and EBS services,” said Steve Smith, president and CEO of Equinix. “Similarly, as Equinix has a high concentration of financial customers at its New York area centers, the addition of ICAP and the ability to directly connect with their trading platforms will enhance our service offering to financial companies already hosted at Equinix.” ICAP will deliver the i-Cross service within Equinix’s recently opened NY4 IBX data center, leveraging Equinix’s multi-million dollar investment in the new building that features financial-grade quality and redundancy, including industry leading security, environmental control and power availability.