TradeKing Enters Into Agreement to Acquire MB TRADING

Acquisition Extends TradeKing’s Offering with Powerful Professional-Level Trading Platform, Marks Firm’s Fourth Acquisition in Three Years

(Fort Lauderdale, FL and El Segundo, CA) —August 26, 2015 – In a move to further extend the scope of its online brokerage offering, TradeKing Group announced today that it has entered into an agreement with California-based MB Trading to acquire all of the firm’s assets. The acquisition is part of TradeKing’s mission to build a diversified financial services firm that fits the needs of every kind of client, from new investors to the savviest traders. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

With the addition of MB Trading’s renowned and award-winning trading platform, TradeKing will offer a powerful, active trading experience for the most experienced traders, featuring the full spectrum of products, including stocks and ETFs, options, bonds, forex and futures.

“TradeKing and MB Trading clients will have access to the best products, technology and services our two firms have to offer,” said Don Montanaro, co-founder and CEO of TradeKing. “TradeKing and MB Trading were both founded on the core principle of driving more value for the investor’s dollar. This acquisition furthers that goal by offering clients of both firms more choice and more capabilities for the same great per trade price. We intend to remain a consolidator in this space to ensure great products and technologies can continue to flourish under the TradeKing umbrella.”

The combined, post-acquisition firm will operate under the TradeKing brand with offices continuing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Charlotte, North Carolina; and El Segundo, California. The existing TradeKing management team will remain in their current roles with Steve Demarest and other key players from MB Trading joining the TradeKing team.

Commenting on the agreement, Steve Demarest, President of MB Trading said, “We chose to enter into this agreement with TradeKing because our two firms share a very similar philosophy; that is to give our clients the very best tools, technology and pricing to put them in a position to win. We know everyone at TradeKing is as committed as we are to treating our clients right and doing whatever it takes to help them succeed.”

What Are the Benefits to Clients? More Choice at the Same Low $4.95/trade Price

For TradeKing clients, they will gain access to an award-winning, fully customizable professional-grade trading platform, which features:

  • Enhanced market data
  • Real-time P&L
  • Level II quotes
  • Robust charting capabilities with more than 100 indicators and studies
  • An expanded set of order types with a sophisticated alert-and-trigger order system that monitors price movement based on over 100 parameters
  • An advanced Formula Engine that can insert over 100 built in mathematical stock fields into its quote sheets, hotlist sheets, scanner sheets, or option sheets, including Last, Bid, Ask, Net%, Block Trades, Money Flow, PE, EPS and much more.

The MB Trading platform will also add Futures trading to TradeKing’s portfolio of offerings for the first time. Other benefits include the ability for qualified clients to gain direct market access, offering greater trade execution control for those active traders; access to MB Trading’s paper trading capability; and MB Trading’s Market Analysis Software offerings.

For MB Trading clients, they will continue to enjoy the active trading software they know and value, while having seamless access to all of TradeKing’s offerings, including:

  • TradeKing’s options-centric platform and tools
  • TradeKing’s managed portfolios, offered through the TradeKing Advisors arm
  • TradeKing’s full suite of educational content and social channels, including TradeKing Media offerings, and trading education in the style of TradeKing’s award-winning Options Playbook including regularly scheduled videos and interactive live webinars
  • TradeKing’s groundbreaking online community, the Trader Network

All of this is complemented by TradeKing’s award-winning customer service.

Who Were the Advisors?

Cooley, LLP served as legal advisor to TradeKing. Polsinelli, PC and Baker Donelson, PC served as legal advisors to MB Trading and KPMG Corporate Finance LLC served as MB Trading’s investment banking advisor.

About MB Trading

MB Trading, IB member FINRA, SIPC; MB Trading Futures, Inc. RFED/IB and member NFA.