KCG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: KCG) operates as a leading independent securities trading firm specializing in market making, high-frequency trading, electronic execution, and institutional sales and trading across equities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), fixed income, foreign exchange, and commodities. The company provides a comprehensive suite of services including algorithmic trading; agency execution; principal trading via exchange-based market making; execution algorithms; dark pool liquidity through its client services platforms; and institutional sales and trading in single stocks, ETFs, and program trading, primarily as an agent for asset managers. KCG targets institutional clients such as asset managers, broker-dealers, and financial institutions, with global operations spanning the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Formed on July 1, 2013, through the merger of Knight Capital Group, Inc. (founded in 1995) and GETCO Holding Company, LLC (founded in 1999), KCG Holdings is headquartered at 545 Washington Boulevard in Jersey City, New Jersey.
In recent years, KCG divested its foreign exchange trading platform, KCG Hotspot, to BATS Global Markets for $365 million in January 2015; acquired 27 million shares of Platinum Studios in 2014; and completed the acquisition of Neonet Securities in 2016 to launch KCG Neonet, enhancing its European agency execution capabilities. Most significantly, on July 20, 2017, KCG Holdings was acquired by Virtu Financial, Inc. for $1.4 billion in cash at $20.00 per share, integrating its market making and execution businesses into Virtu's global platform while achieving substantial synergies including $208 million in net pre-tax expense savings and $440 million in capital efficiencies.