FORTUNE — IEX Group, the alternative exchange highlighted in Michael Lewis’ recent book “Flash Boys,” is reportedly seeking investment capital as part of a plan to become an accredited stock exchange.
That’s according to The Wall Street Journal, which cites anonymous sources close to the matter as saying IEX is in talks with various investors in the hopes of raising funding that would value the firm as high as $300 million. Meanwhile, CNBC cites its own anonymous source as saying IEX has not actively reached out to investors, though the firm has received interest, and the value of any deal is still up in the air.
Launched last October, IEX is a so-called dark pool operator that offers a venue for private trading where bids and sales are not published for public view. “Flash Boys” follows the creation of IEX by former Royal Bank of Canada traders Brad Katsuyama and Ronan Ryan, who suspected high-frequency traders of gaming the stock market.
Should IEX successfully raise capital, the firm would have stronger footing as it moves forward with plans to apply for full-fledged stock exchange status with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to WSJ.
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IEX, which handled on average 0.44% of stock trades in the U.S. last month, says it hopes to “provide a more balanced marketplace” by delaying trades and limiting the types of trades it allows. An IEX spokesman could not be reached for comment.
