Xpansiv CBL Holding Group (XCHG) today announced the acquisition of Venus Technology Ventures (Venus) in order to provide mobile access to users of XCHG’s water, environmental, and energy commodity trading platforms.
XCHG’s customers will be able to connect to global commodity markets anytime, anywhere, reacting to real-time information through the newly developed H2OX App. The multi-language, conversational interface enables users to talk, text, or tap to access markets and initiate trades.
Initially launched for XCHG company H2OX, the leading Australian water exchange, the H2OX App has already facilitated first water trades, and will be available in U.S. energy and environmental markets later this year through CBL Markets (CBL), XCHG’s spot commodity exchange.
In the Australian water market, the app functions like the H2OX exchange desktop platform, offering live bids and offers for water, complete price transparency, full order management, and the same fixed-fee structure for all transactions.
“The H2OX App will enable registered market participants to trade via their mobile devices from anywhere in the world at any time,” said Lex Batters, H2OX CEO. “We believe this is the first native water trading app to be launched globally—another example of why H2OX is the driving force behind water market innovation. The H2OX App is also complementary with the recent Australian Competition & Consumer Commission inquiry into water markets, by making live water market pricing more accessible and transparent.”
The app is another step in H2OX’s mission of providing a level playing field for all market participants and establishes Australia as a leading player in global water markets.
“The acquisition of Venus enables XCHG to expand its product offering, providing customers with real-time market data via their mobile,” said New York-based Nathan Rockliff, XCHG Chief Strategy Officer. “As environmental trading continues to grow into a global, around-the clock-market, mobile access to trading and live market data is vital.”
Integrating Venus’s technology will bolster the company’s pre- and post-trade market data offerings via XSignals, launched earlier this year. XSignals provides live and historical market data to support trading, compliance, and risk-management decisions. XSignals translates Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) spot market price data into high-quality reference products, enabling global markets to accurately price ESG factors.
As part of the acquisition, Venus co-founders Vinnie Annunziata and Greg Stacey have joined XCHG. “We’re thrilled to be part of this remarkable team,” said Annunziata. “This is the global marketplace for data-driven, ESG-inclusive commodities, and by adding mobile access, we’re empowering market participants to more accurately value energy, carbon, and water in an information-rich, resource-constrained world.”
Annunziata’s previous company, TradeCapture OTC, was purchased by the Intercontinental Exchange, and its mobile product Tap and Trade™ is now known as ICE mobile™.
Annunziata and Stacey bring more than 50 years of combined experience in commodities markets, including the creation of platforms used by physical market participants to perform trading, scheduling, inventory, credit, and risk-management functions.
This transaction marks another major development for XCHG as it embarks on a strategic acquisition path to advance its market position and accelerate the growth of global commodity products on its exchange platform. It follows the acquisition of the Environmental Management Account platform from APX, Inc. in December 2019.
About XCHG
Xpansiv CBL Holding Group (XCHG) is the world’s first commodity marketplace built for a data-rich, resource-constrained world. We bring transparency to global markets through innovative, ESG-inclusive commodity products and price information.
About CBL Markets
XCHG company CBL provides access to the world’s energy and environmental commodity markets, facilitating the secure and seamless trading of commodities like carbon, renewable energy, water, and gas.
About H2OX
XCHG company H2OX is the world’s leading water exchange, built for the secure, transparent, efficient electronic trading of water entitlements and allocations.
