3 Comments

What do you think about the rumors that IBKR (and others) are looking to acquire Danish Saxobank?

Expand full comment

Honestly unsure, haven't heard anything about them as of yet. I do think it could be an interesting capital allocation play. As far as I understand the company was potentially looking at a few acquisitions relatively recently but they fell through, or have been postponed. Might be nice to deploy some of that hefty capital they're sitting on though... what do you think?

Expand full comment

I would like them to deploy capital in the right deal.

A Barclays comment:

Acquisitions still on the table, but deal economics remains a challenge. Management

remains open to acquisitions, particularly given their strong capital base and growth ambitions, though they continue to struggle with valuation. For example, while a target company might generate a certain level of revenue based on their current business model, these revenues would be lower after an IBKR integration, given that IBKR charges less than what other brokers offer, and additionally, may not offer all the activities that the target company is offering.

Regarding a potential acquisition of a European bank (as was recently reported in the media), management did not comment on the specific transaction mentioned, but reiterated a European bank license would both remove constraints on margin lending (a bank license would allow IBKR to fund a large portion of margin lending with client deposits, as is standard practice in the U.S., but currently has to use the company’s capital), and would make it much easier to bring back the company’s debit card (which the company had previously discontinued).

Expand full comment