Firm News
Katten Muchin Zavis Rosenman Advises OptionsXpress In Summit Partners Investment
January 21, 2004
CHICAGO – The law firm of Katten Muchin Zavis Rosenman is pleased to have served as legal counsel to optionsXpress in the Summit Partners investment released today.
"This significant investment is further evidence of optionsXpress’ leading position in its industry," said Matthew S. Brown, counsel for optionsXpress and a partner in the Corporate Practice at Katten Muchin Zavis Rosenman in Chicago. Leading the transaction with Mr. Brown was Katten Muchin Zavis Rosenman of counsel Stephen M. Neumer (Chicago). They were assisted by James Van De Graaff, a partner in the Financial Services Practice and Mark Guidubaldi, an associate in the Corporate Practice.
OptionsXpress, Inc., a leading online brokerage for stock and equity options investors, received a minority investment of approximately $90 million from Summit Partners, a leading global private equity and venture capital firm based in Boston with more than $5 billion under management.
OptionsXpress, a Chicago-based brokerage firm, serves self-directed investors who use equity options to protect portfolios, increase investment income and maximize returns on stock movements. It took its first customer in January 2001, and now has grown to 70,000 accounts, with more than 100,000 expected by the end of 2004. With 2003 revenues of approximately $50 million, optionsXpress expects 50 percent quarterly revenue increases throughout 2004. Its customer trading activity now represents approximately 3.5 percent of all listed options volume in the U.S.
OptionsXpress (www.optionsxpress.com) was named both the top online broker in the 2003 Barron's online broker survey, with an unprecedented four-and-a-half star rating (out of five), and the favorite options site by Forbes Best of the Web.
Katten Muchin Zavis Rosenman (www.kmzr.com) offers integrated, full-service legal capabilities through offices in the nation's largest centers of business, government and technology - New York City; Los Angeles; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, North Carolina; Palo Alto, California; and Newark, New Jersey. The Firm’s 600 attorneys in more than 60 practice areas are business advisors and advocates for a wide range of public and private companies – from entrepreneurial, emerging-growth and middle-market firms to global Fortune 100 corporations -- as well as government entities and non-profits.