Carlyle Group, Louis Bacon to Sell Metals Merchant Traxys to Market Maker Optiver

Carlyle Group, the private equity giant, and Louis Bacon, the star hedge fund trader, founder and CEO of Moore Capital Management will sell their holdings in Traxys Group, a metals and natural resources trader and merchant, to a group of investors led by high-frequency trading firm Optiver after buying a majority stake in the company in March 2014. 

CoLift, an investment firm, and an investor group active in mining and natural resources led by Regent Mercantile Holdings Limited and LOM Financial Group, will also acquire Traxys. Traxys’ management will also increase its ownership stake.  

Financial terms were not disclosed; however, Traxys was seeking investment at a valuation of about $300 million, according to Bloomberg News. The transaction is expected to close in May 2023. 

Dutch firm Optiver is a specialist market maker in liquid electronic markets including exchange-traded funds, while Traxys is a mid-sized physical trader with a focus on metals like rare earths, cobalt and tin.  

According to Traxys’ chief executive officer Mark Kristoff, the deal could see the company partner with Optiver to develop new derivatives markets for those niche metals. 

“We believe that combining Traxys’ in-depth knowledge of the raw materials markets with Optiver’s financial strength and expertise in financial derivatives trading will enable us to better serve our customers and suppliers with new solutions to secure their supply and optimize price exposure in our key markets,” said Kristoff.