The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) is gearing up to deliver what CEO Richard Carleton describes as “vigorous” exchange competition to the Australian marketplace by acquiring the National Stock Exchange (NSX).
At the Bridging Australian and Canadian Capital Markets event, held in Sydney earlier this week, Carleton explains the acquisition offers Australian investors “a much broader canvas to paint on as they raise growth capital from investors here and beyond”.
In mid-August, CNSX Market shareholders approved the CSE’s proposed all-cash offer to acquire the NSX. With the deal being finalised this week, the acquisition will enable the CSE to expand its geographic footprint by partnering with an exchange that has a similar focus and culture.
CNSX Markets, which is the operator of the CSE, has been an investor in the NSX since 7 May 2025 and entered into a scheme implementation deed to acquire the 88-year-old Australian bourse, as revealed by this news service.
“We concluded that instead of investing in (CEO of NSX) Max (Cunningham) and the NSX, we’d actually buy Max and the NSX,” Carleton says.
Global connectivity
Max Cunningham (pictured left), CEO of the NSX, explains that the exchange aimed to attract companies to list on the NSX versus the ASX during 2024.
“This year, we’ve had four companies move from ASX to NSX and we’ll have a couple more before the end of the year,” he says.
Two of the four companies that moved onto the NSX became the exchanges most traded stock.
Findings from a Macquarie 2025 report suggests that as many as 544 companies listed on the ASX could move to the NSX in the next five years.
“Now that we have good financial backing and are addressing some of the other outstanding issues that we’ve had – that math on this, which Macquarie came up with is almost identical to our math,” Cunningham notes.
Further, one of the most material developments arising from the acquisition is to build and launch a new trading platform for the NSX by 2026. The platform will deliver a range of enhanced features and allow the listing and trading of new security types.
Work is well underway with both exchange’s technology teams on the design and implementation of the platform.
Cunningham says the new features include expanding its product range to ETFs and doing something different that exists on the other two ETF trading venues.
“There is no reason why we wouldn’t be able to trade, for example, ASX securities like Cboe do. We’ve already worked out where and how we would differentiate ourselves in that.”
Cboe is an alternative trading exchange that offers access to options, futures, cash equities, and FX across markets in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
The potential capability to trade ASX-listed securities provides brokers, participants, and issuers with more choices.
Two online brokers have committed to take part in the NSX’s testing environment to help with connectivity.
In addition, Carleton will be joining the NSX board of directors.
The NSX is the second largest exchange in Australia, behind the Australian Securities Exchange, and is home to listed companies valued from $500,000 to several billion dollars. The average amount of capital raised on the NSX per offer is $8.6 million.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: NSX
