Knight Trading Group To Acquire Stake in Track Data Corporation; Knight and Track Also Sign Letter of Intent To Develop Institutional Trading Platform

Business Wire, Dec 4, 2000

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 2000

Knight Trading Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NITE) and Track Data Corporation (Nasdaq:TRAC) today announced that Knight has agreed to acquire one million shares of Track common stock for $1.25 million and has received a three-year option to acquire an additional two million shares of Track stock for $3.5 million. The companies also announced today that they have signed a non-binding letter of intent to operate a joint venture that will cater to the trading needs of institutional investors.

"We believe that the order management needs of institutional investors are underserved by the order management systems currently available in the securities marketplace," said Kenneth D. Pasternak, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Knight Trading Group. "Knight's joint venture with Track, once finalized, will provide a front-end order management system that will meet institutions' securities order handling and routing needs. Knight will provide liquidity and content to the new operation, while Track will add functionality and control for the system's institutional subscribers."

"We are very pleased that a well-recognized company such as Knight believes in the value of our company and has decided to make this investment," said Barry Hertz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Track Data. "Knight has been one of the market makers to which we route myTrack traders' listed and over-the-counter securities orders. We believe that the joint venture will provide us with a great opportunity to expand our online trading and market data system for institutions."

Knight is the liquidity center that offers superior execution services to its broker-dealer and institutional clients in over-the-counter (OTC) and listed equity securities, and in equity options. In so doing, Knight helps its clients meet their fiduciary obligation of obtaining best execution for the securities orders that they place on behalf of their customers. Knight also maintains an asset management business for institutional investors and high net worth individuals through Deephaven Capital Management.

Knight has the power to commit capital for market orders, and also maintains one of the largest limit order books in the OTC market. It is one of the largest destinations for stock orders placed via the Internet. Knight traded 87 billion shares in the first nine months of 2000, a volume behind only those posted by Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). It is a charter member of Fortune magazine's "e-50 Stock Index," an elite collection of companies shaping the Internet-based economy. Knight also is ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the 500 most profitable public companies in the U.S. Ultimately, Knight plans to enable the global trading village to trade all types of equity securities and options at anytime, from anywhere in the world. More information about Knight can be obtained at www.knighttradinggroup.com.

Track Data Corporation is a New York-based financial services company that provides real-time financial market data, news, and research to institutional and individual investors through dedicated telecommunication lines and the Internet. It also disseminates news and third party database information from more than 100 sources worldwide. Track has been a supplier of electronically delivered financial information since 1981.

In addition to its market data products, Track offers myTrack, a fully integrated, Internet-based online trading and market data system. myTrack offers its users market access through PCs, browser phones, and PDAs. More information about myTrack can be obtained at http://www.mytrack.com or by calling 1-800-myTrack.

Track maintains more than a dozen offices worldwide with executive offices located at 56 Pine Street, New York, New York 10005 and at 95 Rockwell Place, Brooklyn, New York 11217.