Archipelago Holdings, parent company of the ArcaEx all-electronic stock exchange, is to go public next year.
A registration statement is expected to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission during the next several months with a view to a sale during 2004. The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus, says the firm in a brief statement.
The news comes two weeks after private equity outfit General Atlantic Partners took a $125 million minority stake in Archipelago, joining existing stakeholders, including Goldman Sachs, E*Trade, JPMorgan, American Century Companies, and Instinet.
ArcaEx was formed in April this year from the merger of the Archipelago ECN and Pacific Stock Exchange and trades a full complement of Nyse, AmEx, PCX and OTC listed securities.