Nasdaq agrees to acquire LeveL Markets, pending regulatory approvals

Nasdaq has entered a definitive agreement to acquire all equity interests in LeveL Markets, LLC, a U.S. off-exchange equity execution venue. The Nasdaq acquire LeveL Markets transaction has not closed: it remains subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals, and financial terms were not disclosed.

Until those requirements are met, Nasdaq and LeveL Markets will continue as separate companies, Nasdaq said in its August 11 announcement. If the deal closes, LeveL Markets is set to operate within Nasdaq’s newly created Digital Liquidity Networks unit.

Has Nasdaq completed its acquisition of LeveL Markets?

No. Nasdaq has signed a definitive agreement, which sets out the terms under which it proposes to acquire LeveL, but the purchase is contingent on the remaining closing conditions and required approvals. Nasdaq would acquire all of LeveL’s equity interests only on completion of the transaction.

A large off-exchange equity venue

LeveL operates an Alternative Trading System, or ATS, for U.S. equities. Nasdaq describes the platform as one of the country’s leading off-exchange execution venues, processing hundreds of millions of shares a day and connecting with more than 2,500 buy-side and sell-side clients.

Nasdaq said LeveL is the third-largest U.S. ATS by trading volume and executes trades across more than 7,000 symbols daily. Following LeveL’s 2022 merger with Luminex, it served more than 300 institutional buy-side firms and reached clients through more than 15 order and execution management system integrations, according to Nasdaq.

The company reported that LeveL’s average daily trading volume rose 56% year on year during 2025. In its 2021 announcement of a minority investment, Nasdaq described LeveL ATS as an independently operated U.S. equity dark-pool venue intended to minimise information leakage and market impact.

What would change after the deal closes?

Nasdaq said it intends to invest in LeveL’s technology, client offering and long-term growth while seeking to maintain operating continuity and execution quality for existing clients. Those are company plans rather than completed outcomes.

LeveL would retain a dedicated management team within Digital Liquidity Networks, Nasdaq said. The planned structure includes structural separateness, participant confidentiality and operational integrity, while LeveL is expected to remain a registered ATS overseen by FINRA.

Nasdaq first took a strategic minority interest in LeveL in 2021. The exchange operator says a full acquisition would support its stated strategy for “always-on” markets, as it brings liquidity platforms, tokenisation capabilities and financial-technology services into Digital Liquidity Networks. Roland Chai, previously head of Nasdaq’s European Market Services, has been appointed to lead the new organisation.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.