Nasdaq Seeks Predictability in Deal to Buy Thoma Bravo’s Adenza

Nasdaq Inc.’s biggest-ever acquisition is supposed to make the exchange operator more predictable and profitable. Investors may need more convincing.

Monday’s proposed $10.5 billion purchase of financial-software maker Adenza sent shares of Nasdaq tumbling to their biggest intraday drop in nearly a decade — even as the exchange’s Nasdaq 100 index continued on a rally that has boosted the benchmark by 35% this year. The cash-and-shares deal also gives a stake in the public stock exchange to the private equity firm that owns Adenza, Thoma Bravo, along with a seat on the board.

Adena Friedman

Source: Bloomberg

By some accounts, Nasdaq is ...