Nasdaq is set to cut hundreds of jobs as it integrates recently acquired software provider Adenza into its systems and aims to consolidate operations and minimize redundancies across the combined businesses, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
The New York-based company may shed some roles and reallocate others while it integrates Adenza’s New York and London offices into its own locations as part of its global streamlining process, people familiar with the matter told the publication.
Following the acquisition last year, Nasdaq started a review of its offices and organizational structure to optimize certain teams and technology. While this strategy could still change, the initial work has identified opportunities to pare down some roles to avoid duplication, though the final number impacted has not yet been determined.
As of September 30, Nasdaq had around 6,590 employees, while Adenza had 2,000 before the deal was announced in June, Bloomberg noted.
The second-largest stock exchange in the U.S. has leaned more toward technology rather than on revenue from volatile market data and transactions under its CEO Adena Friedman. In a bid to move beyond its roots as a stock and bonds exchange and diversify its technology and intellectual property portfolio, Nasdaq acquired Adenza in a $10.5 billion deal — its biggest-ever deal that expanded its financial technology footprint. The deal closed in November, giving Thoma Bravo LLC, Adenza’s parent company, a 14.9% stake in Nasdaq and making it the company’s second-highest shareholder, according to Bloomberg.
Thoma Bravo and Calypso Technologies merged with AxiomSL and created Adenza in 2021. The company specializes in selling regulatory, compliance and risk management software to financial services institutions.
The acquisition has led to the formation of a new financial technology division under President Tal Cohen. With Cohen as the exception, half of the division's leadership is now from Adenza, reflecting the merger of the two firms, one of the people told Bloomberg.
A representative for Nasdaq declined to comment to Bloomberg.
Nasdaq on Wednesday reported its fourth quarter earnings of $197 million and topped Wall Street expectations, according to The Washington Post. It reported a net income of 36 cents on a per-share basis and earnings adjusted for one-time gains and costs were 72 cents per share.
Layoffs have been common in the financial sector in the last year. Big banks across the world shed at least 61,905 jobs in 2023, the Financial Times reported, citing many disclosures and a tally of the outlet’s own reporting of major reductions. UBS reported the maximum number of job cuts at 13,000, followed closely behind by Wells Fargo at 12,000 reductions. Citi cut roughly 7,000 jobs by the third quarter last year amid a major business overhaul, and earlier this month, the bank announced plans to cut 20,000 more by 2026.
