BMO Financial Group to Acquire Clearpool Group Inc.

New York and Toronto (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Fintech acquisition delivers modern, cloud-based electronic trading
platform with visual data analytics and customizable algorithmic
strategies
- Emphasizes BMO's priorities to provide innovative technology to
clients and expand in areas of opportunity and strength

- BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO) today announced that it has entered into
a definitive agreement to acquire Clearpool Group Inc., a New York-based
provider of holistic electronic trading solutions and an independent agency
broker-dealer operating in the U.S. and Canada. The transaction is subject to
receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary conditions and is
currently expected to close in the calendar second quarter. Terms were not
disclosed.

The transaction delivers powerful new capabilities to BMO's electronic trading
platform. As the nature of equity trading shifts to increased emphasis on
electronic trading, the acquisition of Clearpool demonstrates BMO's commitment
to delivering leading edge trading technology to its global client base.

Founded in 2014, Clearpool has approximately 60 employees and over 100 clients,
primarily U.S. broker dealers who utilize the company's trading technology and
execution services. Its Algorithmic Management System (AMS) provides a fully
customizable suite of algorithmic trading tools designed to service the best
execution needs of institutional clients. Clearpool is a 2019 Waters Rankings
Winner - Best Algorithmic Trading Provider and a recipient of the 2019 Markets
Choice Awards - Best Algorithmic Trading Company.

"BMO Capital Markets is accelerating on our strategic priorities of delivering
exceptional client-experiences, driving an innovation mindset, activating a high
performance culture and simplifying how we do business," said Dan Barclay, CEO,
BMO Capital Markets. "The acquisition of Clearpool is consistent with these
priorities as it gives us access to leading next-gen trading technology and a
broker-dealer client base."

On closing, Clearpool will be a separate broker-dealer with information barriers
to secure clients' confidential information.

"Clearpool's business was built on providing transparency and control to all
market participants," said Aine O'Flynn, Managing Director and Head of Global
Equity Products, BMO Capital Markets. "We are committed to maintaining those
principles."

"We are very excited to join BMO," said Joseph Wald, CEO and Co-Founder,
Clearpool. "The acquisition positions us well to accelerate the next step in
our platform development and provide the infrastructure to become a global,
multi-asset class electronic trading solution. None of this would be possible
without our employees, clients, and advocates who continue to shape our vision
of transparency and collaborative trading solutions."

Electronic trading is a rapidly growing portion of the global equity secondary
commission/fee pool. A 2018 report by Greenwich Associates estimates that 73%
of global equity flows are executed electronically and for more liquid developed
markets, the rate is likely over 90%.

In connection with the transaction, BMO Capital Markets acted as financial
advisor and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP acted as
legal counsel to BMO. Financial Technology Partners acted as financial advisor
and Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius LLP, Murphy & McGonigle and Stikeman Elliott LLP
acted as legal counsel to Clearpool.

About BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets is a leading, full-service North American-based financial
services provider offering corporate, institutional and government clients
access to a complete range of products and services including equity and debt
underwriting, corporate lending and project financing, mergers and acquisitions
advisory services, securitization, treasury management, market risk management,
debt and equity research and institutional sales and trading. With approximately
2,700 professionals in 33 locations around the world, including 19 offices in
North America, BMO Capital Markets works proactively with clients to provide
innovative and integrated financial solutions.

BMO Capital Markets is a member of BMO Financial Group (NYSE, TSX: BMO) one of
the largest diversified financial services providers in North America with $852
billion total assets as at October 31, 2019.

About Clearpool

Launched in 2014 and based in New York, Clearpool Group, Inc. offers holistic
electronic trading solutions and provides independent agency broker-dealer
execution services. With over 100 Algorithmic Management System (AMS)
broker-dealer clients and executing approximately 2% of the US equity market
volume, Clearpool empowers market participants to achieve better quality
executions in an evolving equity market microstructure and competitive
landscape.

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements under
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (and are made
pursuant to the 'safe harbour' provisions of such Act) and applicable Canadian
securities legislation. These forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, statements with respect to the expected closing of the proposed
transaction, plans for the acquired business and the financial impact of the
proposed transaction and are typically identified by words such as "believe",
"expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "will", "should", "may",
"could" and other similar expressions.

By their nature, forward-looking statements are based on various assumptions and
are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution readers of this
press release not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements as
the assumptions underlying such statements may not turn out to be correct and a
number of factors could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or
events to differ materially from the targets, expectations, estimates or
intentions expressed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include,
but are not limited to: the possibility that the proposed transaction does not
close when expected or at all because required regulatory approvals and other
conditions to closing are not received or satisfied on a timely basis or at all;
the terms of the proposed transaction may need to be modified to satisfy such
conditions; the anticipated benefits from the proposed transaction are not
realized in the time frame anticipated or at all as a result of changes in
general economic and market conditions, interest and exchange rates, monetary
policy, laws and regulations (including changes to capital requirements) and
their enforcement, and the degree of competition in the geographic and business
areas in which Clearpool's business currently operates; the ability to promptly
and effectively integrate Clearpool's business; reputational risks and the
reaction of Clearpool's customers and employees to the transaction; diversion of
management time on transaction-related issues; and those other factors set out
on page 68 of BMO's 2019 Annual Report to Shareholders. We caution that the
foregoing list is not exhaustive of all possible factors. These factors should
be considered in addition to other uncertainties and potential events, and the
inherent uncertainty of forward-looking statements.

BMO does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written
or oral, that may be made, from time to time, by the organization or on its
behalf, except as required by law.

BMO Media Contacts: Julie Smithers, Toronto, Julie.Smithers@bmo.com, (416)
643-9180

Additional content: https://www.presseportal.de/pm/140561/4499361
OTS: BMO Financial Group - Acquisitions

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