It was announced at the start of November that Cboe would be exiting its practice in Australia, just weeks after acquiring a license, in a realignment of the company’s portfolio.
As well as Australia, it has initiated a sales process for its Canadian operations and is discontinuing or reducing operations related to listing efforts in the US and Europe.
The addition of Cboe’s licence was intended to boost competition around listings with the ASX and allow Australian investors a wider range of investment opportunities.
Although the sale may seem poor timing, ASIC chair Joe Longo said waiting to sell until it had received a licence made the exchange more attractive to new buyers.
Responding to question put forward by the AAP at the National Press Club, he said: “I’m rather optimistic that now Cboe have made that decision, it’s their decision to make, there will be a successful sale process.
“The fact they have this license makes the sale of the business, I think, more attractive because any buyer won’t have to get the licence. A serious buyer will find it attractive that Cboe has this licence.
“We’ll do whatever we reasonably can to be facilitative and supportive of the process. But in the end, ASIC will make a decision in the public interest as to whether or not to approve whoever Cboe decide to sell to.”
The regulator had previously acknowledged Cboe’s contribution to increasing competition through other moves such as lowering trading costs and expanding access to investment products including ETFs.
Regarding wider IPO practices and listings, Longo said in his accompanying speech that it is streamlining the IPO process which has been declining in recent years as firms opt to stay private.
In 2021, there were 241 new listings on the ASX but in 2024, this had fallen dramatically to just 67 initial public offerings (IPO). When it came to fundraising, this had declined from $4.7 billion to $4.1 million over the same period.
ASX data showed 86 companies have delisted from the ASX in the past six months with the number of listed ASX companies falling from 1,985 at the start of 2025 to 1,919 in September.
He said: “In addition to our streamlining of the IPO process, we’re engaging with industry on amended listing frameworks, new trading platforms, and expanding approved foreign markets for the listing of companies in Australia.
“One of the overarching themes in our report is that we want to strike a better balance that minimises some of the ‘regulatory arbitrage’ we have heard about in our consultations.
“We’ve heard that this is not the only factor, however it has to be said that it is a factor that is contributing to private companies shying away from IPOs.”
The regulator had previously stated in June that it would offer a shorter IPO timetable to reduce deal execution risk by engaging with issuers prior to the exposure period.
This would also reduce the risk that market volatility and consequential pricing changes may impact investor interest in the IPO.
