Private equity firm Keensight Capital has taken a stake in smartTrade Technologies, a financial software provider for trading desks.
Founded in 1999, headquartered in Aix-en-Provence and led by Harry Gozlan and David Vincent, smartTrade Technologies develops and markets software and technology for trading floors. Its liquidity management solutions enable financial institutions to develop high-performance trading platforms for every asset class and all trading protocols throughout the world. The company has developed a particular expertise in providing software solutions for currency and fixed-income trading, a market segment in which it has become a world leader. SmartTrade, whose teams are located across 4 continents, with offices in London, New York, Tokyo and Singapore, has achieved strong year-on-year growth over the past five years.
Keensight Capital enjoys a recognised expertise in the “Fintech” sector and intends to partner with smartTrade Technologies and its management, which is keeping a stake in the company, in order to contribute to its ongoing international development, by both organic and external growth.
Jérôme Pujol, Managing Partner at Keensight Capital, says: “We are very proud to be partnering with smartTrade Technologies, an innovative company which fits perfectly with our investment strategy, focused on profitable European companies experiencing strong growth, in a sector we know well. As a software developer within the trading space – a segment of the financial industry growing rapidly due to electrification as well as regulatory developments – the company has a tremendous growth potential. Harry and David, its senior executives, combining finance and IT backgrounds, are talented and experienced managers with whom we are looking forward to collaborating.”
Harry Gozlan, Founder and Executive Chairman of smartTrade Technologies, says: “We are delighted that Keensight Capital is partnering with us to support the next stage of our development. After 15 years dedicated to developing market-leading products and thanks to the recognition from the financial industry, which is undergoing significant regulatory and technological shifts creating further challenges, smartTrade is now in a position to speed up its growth and capitalize on the consolidation potential within the “Fintech” sector. As an investor specialized in the technology sector and with access to an extensive international network, Keensight Capital has an intimate understanding of the underlying issues of our business. They will support us in undertaking acquisitions to enter new markets and to strengthen our product offer.”
David Vincent, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of smartTrade Technologies, adds: “While we are at the threshold of far-reaching changes and probable emergence of obsolescence in many current “Fintech” systems, smartTrade has been able to stay one step ahead in terms of technology, software engineering and organisation. Keensight Capital’s experience in partnering with fast-growing, profitable companies, and the expertise of its teams in our particular sector of activity, are major advantages in supporting our ambition to become a major player in electronic trading systems.”
