AllianceBernstein to Sell Bond-Traing Software to Algomi

AllianceBernstein Holding LP agreed to sell its bond-trading software platform to trading technology firm Algomi Ltd., the companies said Monday.

Financial terms weren't disclosed, though AllianceBernstein will receive a minority stake in privately held Algomi and a seat on its board.

An AllianceBernstein spokesman said the agreement had nothing to do with the recent ouster of Peter Kraus, the firm's chief executive, and eight other directors. France's AXA SA, which engineered the shake-up, owns a majority of the U.S. investment firm.

The platform -- Automated Liquidity Filtering & Analytics, or ALFA -- monitors electronic trading venues and alerts users when there is activity on the bonds they're looking to buy or sell. AllianceBernstein's top credit-trading executives, Jim Switzer and Tim Morbelli, developed the system with a goal of making the money manager a more efficient bond trader.

AllianceBernstein started using ALFA in 2015, and executives have said it helped lower trading costs. It tracks venues that trade government and corporate bonds, as well as mortgage- and asset-backed securities.

AllianceBernstein executives said they figured other asset managers would pay to use the platform but likely only if it weren't owned by a competitor. Last year, the firm began to look for an outside partner.

The firm's discussions with Algomi began last fall, according to Stu Taylor, Algomi's chief executive.

T. Rowe Price Group Inc., Brown Brothers Harriman and BlueBay Asset Management agreed to use the ALFA platform following its sale to Algomi, the companies said.

Algomi was founded in 2012 and has more than 250 clients. Algomi's trading tools include Honeycomb, which helps money managers find buyers or sellers of bonds through a web of information aggregated from banks and other dealers.

Write to Justin Baer at justin.baer@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 15, 2017 18:23 ET (22:23 GMT)