The partnership brings together Northpool's expertise in European power and gas markets with Optiver's industry leading technology, quantitative capabilities and risk management experience. This is a strategic combination of capabilities that will enable both firms to expand their presence in energy markets, where growing electricity demand, increasingly complex power systems and the transition to lower-carbon energy sources are driving the need for sophisticated market participants.
“Northpool has built a leading business in short-term power and gas trading, combining deep market expertise with advanced weather analytics and predictive models. This investment strongly complements the asset class portfolio we have built and will allow us to bring our liquidity provision to global energy markets.”
Alex Fisher, Currencies & Commodities Lead at Optiver, added: “Our ambition is to build a major global energy trading business, and Northpool represents an important step in that journey. The combination of Northpool’s deep energy market expertise with Optiver’s broader trading capabilities gives us a powerful platform from which to grow. In Northpool we found a culture that strongly aligns with our own – one built on ownership, technical excellence and solving complex problems. We share an ambition to apply that expertise to make energy markets more liquid, efficient and resilient."
"As we considered the next phase of Northpool's growth, we were looking for a partner that shared our ambition and could help us accelerate our long-term plans," said Roald Noort, founder and CEO of Northpool. "We found that in Optiver. This partnership gives us access to Optiver's technology, quantitative expertise and global scale, while allowing us to build on what has made Northpool successful."
Following completion of the transaction, Northpool will continue to operate as Northpool, with Roald Noort remaining CEO.
The transaction is expected to complete in November 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions.
About Optiver
Optiver is a global market maker founded in Amsterdam, with offices in London, Chicago, Austin, New York, Sydney, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei and Mumbai.
Established in 1986, today we are a leading liquidity provider, with over 2,000 employees in offices around the world, united in our commitment to improve the market through competitive pricing, execution and risk management. By providing liquidity on multiple exchanges across the world in various financial instruments we participate in the safeguarding of healthy and efficient markets. We provide liquidity to financial markets using our own capital, at our own risk, trading a wide range of products: listed derivatives, cash equities, ETFs, bonds and foreign currencies.
About Northpool
Northpool is a proprietary energy trading firm headquartered in Leiden, the Netherlands, with an additional office in Vancouver, Canada. Founded in 2012, Northpool specialises in European power and gas markets and has built a strong reputation through its expertise in energy trading, forecasting and optimisation. Combining deep market knowledge with advanced modelling and in-house technology, Northpool trades across increasingly complex energy markets and is committed to innovation, collaboration and excellence in everything it does.
