Nasdaq has entered into an agreement to acquire Adenza, a provider of software used by banks and brokerage firms. Terms of the transaction include $5.75 billion in cash and the issuance of 85.6 million shares of Nasdaq common stock.

Adenza is owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, which will acquire 14.9% of Nasdaq's outstanding shares upon completion of the transaction, making it a major shareholder. Adenza specializes in providing software solutions for trade management, risk management and "post-trade" data processing in a variety of markets, including currencies and derivatives. In addition, its technology makes it easier for banks to report data to regulators. Thoma Bravo built Adenza by acquiring software firm Calypso for $3.7 billion in 2021, which it combined with AxiomSL, a company Thoma Bravo acquired in 2020 for an estimated price of approximately $2 billion. Calypso specialises in providing comprehensive risk management workflows for capital markets participants. AxiomSL, on the other hand, offers cutting-edge regulatory and compliance software solutions for financial institutions.

Nasdaq is actively pursuing a strategy of expanding its sources of revenue beyond its core exchange business, which primarily involves trading in public company stocks. More recently, Nasdaq has been investing in software, data and various other services to diversify its portfolio. In addition, the company has expanded its capabilities in protective software technologies with its $2.75 billion acquisition of Verafin in 2020. This acquisition enabled Nasdaq to provide products that help banks and trading companies in investigating and reporting cases of money laundering, fraud, and manipulation.

Following the announcement of the deal, Nasdaq shares saw an immediate drop of 9.77% to $52.18 during early Monday trading.