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Organization
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Organization  
Organization

Tradeweb Markets Inc. and Subsidiaries

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

 

1.          Organization

Tradeweb Markets Inc. (the “Corporation”) was incorporated as a Delaware corporation on November 7, 2018 for the purpose of completing certain reorganization transactions in order to carry on the business of Tradeweb Markets LLC (“TWM LLC”) and conducting an initial public offering (“IPO”) as described below under “—Initial Public Offering” and “—Reorganization Transactions.”

 

The Corporation is a consolidating subsidiary of BCP York Holdings, (“BCP”) a company owned by certain investment funds affiliated with The Blackstone Group Inc. (f/k/a The Blackstone Group L.P.) (“Blackstone”), through BCP’s majority ownership interest in Refinitiv Holdings Limited (the “Parent” and, unless otherwise stated or the context otherwise requires, together with all of its subsidiaries, “Refinitiv”). Refinitiv owns a majority ownership interest in the Company (as defined below).  

 

The Corporation is a holding company whose principal asset is LLC Interests (as defined below) of TWM LLC. As the sole manager of TWM LLC, the Corporation operates and controls all of the business and affairs of TWM LLC and, through TWM LLC and its subsidiaries, conducts the Corporation’s business. As a result of this control, and because the Corporation has a substantial financial interest in TWM LLC, the Corporation consolidates the financial results of TWM LLC and reports a non-controlling interest in the Corporation’s consolidated financial statements.  As of December 31, 2019, Tradeweb Markets Inc. owns 73.4% of TWM LLC and the non-controlling interest holders own the remaining 26.6% of TWM LLC.

 

Unless the context otherwise requires, references to the “Company” refer to Tradeweb Markets Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, including TWM LLC, following the completion of the Reorganization Transactions (as defined below), and TWM LLC and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to the completion of the Reorganization Transactions.

 

The Company is a leader in building and operating electronic marketplaces for a global network of clients across the institutional, wholesale and retail client sectors. The Company’s principal subsidiaries include:

 

·

Tradeweb LLC (“TWL”), a registered broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), a registered independent introducing broker with the Commodities Future Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and a member of the National Futures Association (“NFA”).

 

·

Dealerweb Inc. (“DW”) (formerly known as Hilliard Farber & Co., Inc.). DW is a registered broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and a member of FINRA. DW is also registered as an introducing broker with the CFTC and NFA.

 

·

Tradeweb Direct LLC (“TWD”) (formerly known as BondDesk Trading LLC), a registered broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and a member of FINRA.

 

·

Tradeweb Europe Limited (“TEL”), a Multilateral Trading Facility regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) in the UK, which maintains branches in Asia which are regulated by certain Asian securities regulators.

 

·

TW SEF LLC (“TW SEF”), a Swap Execution Facility (“SEF”) regulated by the CFTC.

 

·

DW SEF LLC (“DW SEF”), a SEF regulated by the CFTC.

 

·

Tradeweb Japan K.K. (“TWJ”), a security house regulated by the Japanese Financial Services Agency (“JFSA”) and the Japan Securities Dealers Association (“JSDA”).

 

·

Tradeweb EU B.V. (“TWEU”), a Trading Venue and Approved Publication Arrangement regulated by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (“AFM”).

 

Acquisition of Parent Company and Presentation of Financial Statements

 

A majority interest of Refinitiv (formerly the Thomson Reuters Financial & Risk Business) was acquired by BCP on October 1, 2018 (the “Refinitiv Transaction”) from Thomson Reuters Corporation (“TR”). The accompanying consolidated financial statements are presented for two periods: predecessor and successor, which relate to the periods preceding and succeeding the Refinitiv Transaction, respectively.  The Refinitiv Transaction results in a new basis of accounting beginning on October 1, 2018 and the financial reporting periods are presented as follows:

·

The successor period of the Company, reflecting the Refinitiv Transaction, as of and for the year ended December 31, 2019 and as of December 31, 2018 and for the period from October 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018 (the “2018 Successor Period”).

·

The predecessor period of the Company for the period from January 1, 2018 to September 30, 2018 (the “2018 Predecessor Period”) and the year ended December 31, 2017.

See Note 3 – Pushdown Accounting.

 

 

Initial Public Offering

 

On April 8, 2019, the Corporation completed its IPO of 46,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.00001 per share, of the Corporation (the “Class A common stock”)  at a public offering price of $27.00, which included 6,000,000 shares of Class A common stock issued pursuant to the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of Class A common stock.  The Corporation received $1.2 billion in net proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions but before deducting offering expenses, which were used to purchase membership interests of TWM LLC from certain existing equity holders of TWM LLC (and the corresponding shares of common stock were cancelled as described below), at a purchase price per interest equal to the public offering price of $27.00, less the underwriting discounts and commissions payable thereon. See Note 11 – Stockholders’ Equity.

 

Reorganization Transactions

 

Prior to the closing of the IPO, a series of reorganization transactions (the “Reorganization Transactions”) was completed among the Corporation, TWM LLC and the owners of TWM LLC prior to the Reorganization Transactions (collectively, the “Original LLC Owners”), including the following parties:

 

certain investment and commercial banks (collectively, the “Bank Stockholders”);

 

members of management;

 

the Refinitiv Direct Owner, (i) prior to June 28, 2019, a direct subsidiary of Refinitiv that owned interests in an entity that held membership interests of TWM LLC prior to the Reorganization Transactions and contributed such entity to the Corporation (the “Refinitiv Contribution”) in exchange for shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.00001 per share, of the Corporation (the “Class B common stock”) in connection with the completion of the Reorganization Transactions and (ii) on and after June 28, 2019, an indirect subsidiary of Refinitiv that owns shares of the Corporation’s Class B common stock which shares were contributed by the direct subsidiary of Refinitiv referred to in the foregoing clause (i); and

 

an indirect subsidiary (the “Refinitiv LLC Owner” and, together with the Refinitiv Direct Owner, the “Refinitiv Owners”) of Refinitiv.

 

As used herein, references to “Continuing LLC Owners” refer collectively to (i) those Original LLC Owners, including the Refinitiv LLC Owner, certain Bank Stockholders and members of management, that continued to own LLC Interests (as defined below) after the completion of the IPO and Reorganization Transactions, that received shares of Class C common stock, par value $0.00001 per share, of the Corporation (the “Class C common stock”), shares of the Corporation’s Class D common stock or a combination of both, as the case may be, in connection with the completion of the Reorganization Transactions, and that may redeem or exchange their LLC Interests for shares of Class A common stock or Class B common stock and (ii) solely with respect to the Tax Receivable Agreement (as defined below), also includes those Original LLC Owners, including certain Bank Stockholders, that disposed of all of their LLC Interests for cash in connection with the IPO.

 

The following Reorganization Transactions occurred:

 

TWM LLC’s limited liability company agreement (the “TWM LLC Agreement”) was amended and restated to, among other things, (i) provide for a new single class of common membership interests in TWM LLC (“LLC Interests”), (ii) exchange all of the then existing membership interests in TWM LLC for LLC Interests and (iii) appoint the Corporation as the sole manager of TWM LLC. See Note 11 – Stockholders’ Equity.

 

The Corporation’s certificate of incorporation was amended and restated to, among other things, provide for Class A common stock, Class B common stock, Class C common stock and Class D common stock. See Note 11 – Stockholders’ Equity.

 

·

The Corporation issued 20,000,000 shares of Class C common stock and 105,289,005 shares of Class D common stock to the  Original LLC Owners that received LLC Interests on a one-to-one basis with the number of LLC Interests they owned immediately following the amendment and restatement of the TWM LLC Agreement for nominal consideration (and the Corporation subsequently cancelled 9,993,731 shares of such Class C common stock and 36,006,269 shares of such Class D common stock in connection with the Corporation’s purchase of LLC Interests from certain of the Bank Stockholders using the net proceeds of the IPO).

 

·

As a result of the Refinitiv Contribution (described above), the Corporation received 96,933,192 LLC Interests and the Refinitiv Direct Owner received 96,933,192 shares of Class B common stock. See Note 11 – Stockholders’ Equity.

 

The Corporation’s board of directors adopted a new omnibus equity incentive plan, under which equity awards may be made in respect of shares of Class A common stock. It also assumed sponsorship of an option plan and PRSU plan formerly sponsored by TWM LLC. See Note 13 – Stock-Based Compensation Plans.

 

The Corporation entered into a tax receivable agreement (the “Tax Receivable Agreement”) with TWM LLC and the Continuing LLC Owners. See Note 10 – Tax Receivable Agreement.

 

 

LSEG Transaction

 

On August 1, 2019, London Stock Exchange Group plc announced that it has agreed to definitive terms with a consortium including certain investment funds affiliated with Blackstone as well as TR to acquire the Refinitiv business in an all share transaction (the “LSEG Transaction”). The LSEG Transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions, and is expected to close during the second half of 2020..