Bond trading platform Tradeweb just filed for an IPO

Tradeweb

Lee Olesky, CEO of Tradweb

• Tradeweb, which runs electronic markets in bonds, derivatives and ETFs, just filed to go public.
• The company made a profit of $130.2 million in 2018, which was a 55.6% increase from 2017.

Tradeweb, an operator of electronic markets in bonds, derivatives and exchange-traded funds, just filed to go public.

Refinitiv, a venture between Blackstone and Thomson Reuters, is the currently majority owner in the New York-based company and will retain a controlling interest in Tradeweb following the IPO, which will take place on Nasdaq.

A consortium of banks, including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs, also hold a minority interest in the company.

See also: 'The boom in new corporate bond trading platforms is over': There could be a wave of M&A in the bond-trading business

The complex markets Tradeweb operates in, such as corporate bonds and swaps, have seen increased electronification over the years. In addition to Tradeweb, platforms like MarketAxess, which went public in 2004, Bloomberg, and Trumid have gained market share in asset classes where deals were traditionally done over the phone.

Tradeweb saw an average daily volume of $549.3 billion in 2018, which was a 37.5% increase from the previous year. Gross revenue of ($684.4 million) and net income ($130.2 million) in 2018 also increased 21.6% and 55.6% respectively from the previous year.

JPMorgan is leading the IPO, and additional underwriters include Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.