Barclays Capital has taken a minority equity stake in TradeWeb, a provider of online markets owned by Thomson Reuters and a group of dealer-brokers. The size of the stake, nor the amount paid, was disclosed.
In connection with the deal, majority owner Thomson Reuters and the 10 dealers - including Barclays - have agreed to pump an extra $68 million into the platform.
Thomson originally acquired the business from its dealer-owners in 2004. The sell-off was sparked by regulatory concerns over potential conflicts of interest and competition issues in dealer-owned networks.
However, in 2007, with trading volumes on the platform soaring, the dealers paid Thomson $180 million to buy back in, acquiring a minority stake that valued the business at $1.5 billion, triple the price Thomson originally paid.
Barclays Capital has now become the tenth dealer-owner, joining Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, RBS and UBS.
Harry Harrison, head, rates, Barclays Capital, says: "Partnering with Tradeweb underscores the firm's commitment to delivering best-in-class service, liquidity and reliability in the electronic trading space to our clients."
Separately, Barclays Capital has launched a suite of online foreign exchange tools it says will provide clients with enhanced order management capabilities and access to deeper liquidity. The PowerFill+ suite on Barclays' Barx electronic trading platform, is free to use.
The main feature of PowerFill+ is that it allows clients to anonymously work bids and offers. The best bid/offer forms part of the price that users see, enabling Barx to provide all clients with tighter spreads and deeper liquidity.
Tim Cartledge, head, Barx FX Trading, Barclays Capital, says: "Zero brokerage plus Barclays Capital's certainty and depth of liquidity, coupled with the extra liquidity resulting from our clients' own orders, means we are providing clients with an optimal trading environment."