TXSE Group closes $155M round as its exchange takes listings

TXSE Group runs the Texas Stock Exchange, a fully electronic national market where public companies and exchange-traded product sponsors can list securities, while trading firms connect to enter orders and receive live market data. The Dallas-based company closed a $155 million third funding round on Sept. 30, according to Insurance Journal. TXSE’s own announcement confirmed the round was complete and said its total capital position had reached $430 million.

Existing owners supplied more than 75% of the new money, TXSE said. BlackRock, Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are among its major equity holders. The company said the financing will let it increase capital reserves and scale primary listings and continuous trading.

For customers, the work starts before a stock changes venues. Exchange members connect their systems, test them and complete certification before entering production. They can then send orders through the industry-standard FIX protocol or TXSE’s SEED interface and receive full-depth or top-of-book market data through the exchange’s feeds.

The exchange’s Texas headquarters doesn’t mean its primary trading technology sits there. TXSE identifies Equinix NY6 in Secaucus, New Jersey, as its main data center and Equinix DA11 in Dallas as its disaster-recovery site. Production members can connect through local cross-connects, leased circuits or approved extranets; VPN access is limited to sandbox testing.

TXSE has progressed to active primary listings, but its early roster carries an important qualification. Insurance Journal reported that the initial slate largely consists of companies with ties to the exchange: Energy Transfer Chairman Kelcy Warren owns a large TXSE Group stake, while Texas Capital is led by an executive who sits on the exchange’s advisory board. That makes demand beyond TXSE’s existing network the concrete test.

NYSE and Nasdaq, which have long dominated United States listings, have responded with Texas-based venues of their own, Insurance Journal reported. The distinction is therefore not geography alone: TXSE is trying to win primary listings for an independent national exchange. It said companies representing $115 billion of market value announced moves during the 20 days before the financing.