Luminex and LeveL ATS Agree to Merger

LeveL ATS, an independently operated US equity dark pool trading venue for the sell-side and Luminex Trading & Analytics, a block trading venue built for and owned by the buy-side, have announced a definitive agreement to merge. According to a story in Traders Magazine, the deal is expected to be completed in Q1 2022. Through the merger, LeveL ATS and Luminex will operate as two separate alternative trading systems (ATS) under one broker-dealer. Founded in 2006 by a consortium of banks, LeveL ATS empowers clients to trade on a new level by delivering a suite of products ranging from a continuous crossing platform to VWAP order types, to fintech solutions and low-latency trading platforms. Most recently, LeveL ATS launched three proprietary volume weighted average price (VWAP) order types, VWAP Block, VWAP Slice and VWAP Full Day. Luminex was approved as a FINRA member in 2014 and launched trading in 2015 as an SEC-registered ATS. Designed to provide buy-side institutional investors with more efficient trading of large blocks of shares, Luminex is a completely anonymous, non-quoted trading venue that helps subscribers source liquidity and reduce market impact.