PHLX crosses river, but stays in Philadelphia
Nasdaq's futures and options trading market and information technology unit, based in the building its predecessor Philadelphia Stock Exchange bought at 1900 Market St. in 2008, plans to relocate to the 49-story FMC headquarters tower at 2900 Walnut St.
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Nasdaq's futures and options trading market and information technology unit, based in the building its predecessor Philadelphia Stock Exchange bought at 1900 Market St. in 2008, plans to relocate to the 49-story FMC headquarters tower at 2900 Walnut St.
"The commonwealth of Pennsylvania and city of Philadelphia have provided a tremendous opportunity for Nasdaq to create state-of-the-art options trading technology, as well as a new vibrant office environment in the new FMC Tower," said Tom Wittman, executive vice president and global head of equities, Nasdaq.
"I am extremely excited that America's oldest stock exchange has demonstrated its commitment to expanding its workforce in one of the country's oldest cities," Gov. Wolf said in a statement Tuesday confirming the deal.
The tower, developed by Brandywine Realty Trust, is in a state-designated Keystone Opportunity Zone, which gives tenants tax breaks.
"The company's decision to create a new state-of-art trading floor in the new FMC Tower is a testament to the talent pool that exists in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia's commitment to innovation and technology," Wolf added. "I look forward to the opening of Nasdaq's new home as it continues to grow in the commonwealth."
The market would occupy 75,000 square feet of the 636,000-square-foot office section of the tower, Nasdaq spokesman Allan Schoenberg said.
The building will also house chemical maker FMC's headquarters and University of Pennsylvania offices, plus apartments.
Brandywine Realty Trust is the dominant office landlord in three of the region's highest-rent office districts - Center City west of Broad, University City and Radnor. Brandywine didn't immediately return calls seeking comment.
The PHLX, after absorbing the Washington and Baltimore exchanges and other regional markets, focused on developing options trading technology, which has helped it survive within Nasdaq while other regional markets have shut entirely.
Just as the once-raucous New York Stock Exchange has become a quieter place since the 1990s as more traders used digital technology to "move upstairs" to remote trading locations, the Market Street building's basement trading floor has contracted since the exchange's 1980s and 1990s heyday, when bright-jacketed traders jostled in crowds to price blocs of options contracts for Dell Computer and other then-popular stocks.
The market was America's oldest stock exchange, housed in several buildings that have moved west from Society Hill over its long history.
For several weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks shut Manhattan's financial district, the market filled to overflowing as displaced American Stock Exchange traders from New York joined the PHLX crowd.
Prominent firms founded at the PHLX include Susquehanna International, a Bala Cynwyd firm employing 1,800, including 1,100 at its Bala Cynwyd headquarters, which says its traders account for 5 percent of U.S. stock volume and 20 percent of option contracts.
(215) 854-5194 @PhillyJoeD