SIX Group weighs pan-European SME exchange, acquisitions

By Charlie Conchie

LONDON -The operator of the Swiss and Spanish stock markets is weighing acquisitions and the launch of a pan-European equity exchange for small and medium-sized firms, its chief executive told Reuters. 

SIX Group, which owns the SIX Swiss stock exchange in Zurich, BME in Madrid and Aquis in London, is eyeing a number of smaller transactions to boost its data and post-trade business lines, Bjorn Sibbern said. 

It is also in the early stage of exploring the launch of a growth market for small companies that would leverage its exchange presence in London, Madrid and Zurich, he added.

“We are looking at (whether) we can build a pan-European listing venue for SMEs,” Sibbern said. “That is something we need to look at because it's close to our DNA. We have a foot in each of the three countries.” 

Europe's equity markets have been hit by a dearth of listings in recent years and a slide in the number of growth companies raising capital. There are no details yet over how SIX's market would function or timelines for a launch, Sibbern said. 

He said SIX, which is owned by around 120 financial institutions, had the resources to pursue acquisitions and grow the group's revenue, which has lagged peers. But he acknowledged the company did not have access to the same funding to compete for bigger deals as rival, listed exchange groups.

The collapse in the value of French payments firm Worldline has damaged the finances of SIX, a large shareholder in the company. SIX said earlier this month it expected a 2025 net loss of about 300 million Swiss francs ($378 million) due to a 550-million-franc write-down on its 10.5% stake.

Its Worldline stake was worth more than 2 billion euros in 2021 but is now valued at less than 50 million euros, after Worldline's shares tanked about 97% as it suffered customer churn, repeated profit warnings, leadership instability and softer consumer spending.

Sibbern said that SIX would not inject any more capital into Worldline and would instead focus investment in its exchange, data and post-trade divisions. He ruled out a large deal that would pivot the company away from its exchange operations. 

“Listing will always be a key part of what we do, and we are mindful about where we started,” he said. “Maybe some of our peer exchanges have lost the focus on the listing part, which is a very important part for us,” he added. 

(Reporting by Charlie Conchie. Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Mark Potter)