Aquis Exchange not proceeding with Cboe EU tape JV

(Sharecast News) - Aquis Exchange announced on Wednesday that the joint venture behind SimpliCT, its partnership with Cboe Europe, would not proceed with a bid to provide the European equities consolidated tape. The exchange operator, which had agreed to be acquired by Six Exchange Group since first announcing the potential bid, put the decision down to economic considerations following initial exploration of the opportunity.

It outlined ambitious plans in October, when Aquis and Cboe unveiled SimpliCT as a joint initiative to bid for the European consolidated tape provider role.

The project aimed to leverage the firms' combined expertise in pan-European equity exchanges and data reporting to deliver a reliable and cost-efficient market activity overview, benefiting investors and issuers across the European Union.

SimpliCT was intended to operate as an independent entity based in the Netherlands, as a solution aligned with the European Commission's Capital Markets Union goals.

The consolidated tape initiative stemmed from the European Commission's mandate, under the MiFIR Review, for a single provider of real-time equity trading data across the EU.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.