- Clearstream and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange invest in London-based fintech Origin
- Partners seek to jointly develop solution to automate bond issuance processes
- Initial scope of the partnership includes international medium-term notes (Eurobonds)
Clearstream and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) have announced a Series A investment in Origin, a London-based fintech company focused on digital bond issuance. The partners aim to automate the bond issuance process from origination through to settlement. Financial details are expected to be disclosed in a few weeks and the transaction is expected to be completed in Q4 2020.
The capital raised in this Series A financing round will be used to explore the partners’ joint vision of creating an end-to-end, open access, straight-through digital process for issuance, settlement and listing of debt instruments. This aims to further integrate Origin’s products into the existing capital markets ecosystem. The initial focus of the partnership will be on Eurobonds with the aim to expand the offering to also cover other asset classes in the future.
Jens Hachmeister, head of Issuer Services & New Digital Markets at Clearstream, said in a statement: “The lack of automation in bond issuance takes up a tremendous amount of resources and hampers issuers’ capacities to adopt more flexible funding strategies. We have been approached by clients in this regard to support them in further streamlining their workflows. In Origin, we have found an innovative and experienced partner to do just that.”
Arnaud Delestienne, director of International Capital Markets at LuxSE, said in a statement: “Clearstream and LuxSE are active in the listing and settlement of international debt securities, and through this initiative, we can accelerate the digitalization efforts in primary capital markets.”
LuxSE acquired an initial stake in Origin in 2019. Origin currently counts over 90 issuers and 20 dealers as clients, including some of the largest participants in the international capital markets.