Electronic trading giant Citadel Securities will bolster its already huge presence at the New York Stock Exchange by buying the NYSE market-making business of smaller rival IMC Financial Markets, the companies said.
The deal would solidify Citadel Securities’ status as the largest designated market maker at the exchange. DMM firms are tasked with ensuring orderly trading of stocks listed on the NYSE. They gain certain trading privileges in return, and their blue-jacketed traders occupy a prominent position in the center of the exchange’s historic trading floor.
The deal is subject to approval by the NYSE. If it is completed, Citadel Securities would oversee trading for more than half of the securities listed on the exchange. It would also reduce the number of DMM firms at the Big Board to three from four, potentially raising concerns that the DMM business is becoming overly concentrated.
IMC, a global trading firm based in