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Chris Concannon will be taking the reins at BATS Global Markets Inc. with an eye toward expanding the firm's trading in foreign-exchange forward contracts and possibly in precious metals.
Mr. Concannon, who will add the CEO title to his duties as president of Kansas City, Mo.-based BATS on March 31, said in an interview that the pending acquisition of institutional spot foreign-exchange network Hotspot FX, once completed, could serve as a springboard into broader FX markets, specifically forwards, in which different currencies are exchanged at a later date with an exchange rate set in advance. BATS in January announced an agreement to acquire Hotspot from KCG Holdings Inc. for $365 million in cash.
"FX is one of the most enormous markets," Mr. Concannon said. "Our opportunity in that area is global. Our resources are focused on that through the Hotspot acquisition. The global FX market is somewhere around $5.3 trillion; of that, $2 trillion is in the spot FX market, which is what's traded through...