optionsXpress Holdings, Inc. (NasdaqGS: OXPS) today announced it has
signed a definitive agreement to acquire Open E Cry, LLC, for
approximately $18 million, plus additional consideration based upon
future performance. The Company anticipates the transaction to close on
July 1, 2008. Open E Cry, based in Powell, OH, is an innovative futures
broker offering direct access futures trading through its proprietary
software platform, OEC Trader. The Open E Cry platform contains a set of
complex systems and order routing technology specifically designed to
meet the standards of high volume commodities and futures traders. End
user access is achieved through a downloadable software interface or
through a proprietary API.
“We believe the acquisition of Open E Cry
further enhances optionsXpress’ position as
the premiere derivatives-focused brokerage,”
said David Fisher, Chief Executive Officer of optionsXpress. “We
anticipate significant growth in the futures industry, and this
acquisition provides us with a world-class platform to expand our market
presence by appealing to institutions and highly active traders.”
Open E Cry was formed in 2002 by its president and founder, Rick Tomsic.
With an emphasis on speed, reliability and ease of use, Open E Cry has
developed a platform that caters to the specific needs of high volume
futures traders.
“We think optionsXpress is a great fit for
Open E Cry. Bringing our companies together creates a terrific array of
tools and products for all types of investors,”
commented Mr. Tomsic. “This business
combination provides a tremendous opportunity for us to accelerate Open
E Cry’s growth by leveraging optionsXpress’
robust infrastructure.”
Transaction Terms:
Open E Cry’s members will receive
approximately $13 million of cash consideration and $5 million in stock
plus additional consideration based upon future performance. Mr. Tomsic
has agreed to a multi-year employment agreement. optionsXpress expects
the transaction to have no significant impact on 2008 earnings per share.
Open E Cry Financial and Operating
Metrics:
For the twelve months ended December 31, 2007, Open E Cry generated
approximately $8 million in revenue and $1 million in pretax income.
Year-to-date 2008 revenues have grown over 100% from the same period
last year. Key operating metrics for 2007 were:
-
Ending open accounts of approximately 2,100
-
Daily average revenue trades of approximately 5,500 (DARTs)
-
Ending customer assets of $37 million
About optionsXpress Holdings, Inc.
optionsXpress Holdings, Inc. provides innovative securities brokerage
products and services for investor education, strategy evaluation and
trade execution. Through its subsidiaries optionsXpress, Inc., an online
brokerage, and brokersXpress LLC, an online broker dealer for investment
representatives and advisors, the company offers a wide range of
investor tools, outstanding customer service via Live Help chat service
and competitive commissions. optionsXpress has been named the top online
securities brokerage by Kiplinger's Personal Finance (2006) and by
Barron's in its last four annual surveys (2003 to 2006).
More information can be found in the Investor Relations section of
optionsXpress' website at http://www.optionsxpress.com/investor.
Safe Harbor
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These
statements relate to future events or our future financial performance
and involve known and unknown risks. We urge you to carefully consider
these risks in evaluating the information in this press release,
including risks related to general economic conditions, regulatory
developments, the competitive landscape, the volume of securities
trading generally or by our customers specifically and other risks
described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In
some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology
such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "intends," "plans,"
"anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential,"
"continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable
terminology. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or
results may differ materially. The forward-looking statements made in
this press release relate only to events as of the date of this release.
We undertake no ongoing obligation to update these statements.
