TD Ameritrade completes thinkorswim acquisition

Online brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. said Thursday it has completed its $606 million acquisition of thinkorswim Group Inc.

Thinkorswim shareholders will receive $3.34 per share and 0.3980 of a share of Ameritrade common stock for each share of thinkorswim common stock. Thinkorswim's shareholders approved the deal on Tuesday.

Officials at Omaha-based Ameritrade have said this acquisition will strengthen the company's trading business and add new tools for advanced options and futures.

"We have solidified our industry leadership position in trading and will use thinkorswim's outstanding trading and educational capabilities to further strengthen our competitive position," Ameritrade Chief Executive Fred Tomczyk said.

Ameritrade said this deal will make it the new industry leader in the number of options trades placed each day. It also provides millions of clients with access to the investor education program thinkorswim offered.

Ameritrade said this deal didn't dilute its shareholders' ownership because Ameritrade repurchased roughly 36 million shares of its stock since announcing the deal in January. So thinkorswim was effectively purchased with cash.

Ameritrade expects little to no impact to its fiscal 2009 earnings, with a 3 percent to 7 percent accretion expected in fiscal 2010 and 7 percent to 10 percent in fiscal 2011.

Teams from both companies will phase in functionality for trading advanced options, futures and foreign exchange over the next 18 months as thinkorswim is integrated into Ameritrade. Also, education offerings to include more programs focused on long-term investing will be added.

Former thinkorswim CEO Lee Barba will serve as an adviser to Tomczyk during the integration. Tom Sosnoff, co-founder of the thinkorswim brokerage, is the senior vice president of the company's trader group. John Bunch, president of retail distribution at Ameritrade, has assumed responsibility for the education business, both for broker-dealer provided content and the Investools curriculum.

Dave Kelley, the company's chief operating officer, is responsible for leading the integration.

Ameritrade shares fell 12 cents Thursday to $17.96. Thinkorswim stock ceased trading at Thursday's market close.

___

AP Writer David Pitt contributed to this report from Des Moines, Iowa.

___

On the Net:

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp.: http://www.amtd.com

thinkorswim Group Inc.: http://www.thinkorswim.com