Art of Acquire

By John Haughey | Contributing Writer

There was “a lot of new whiz-bang technology in financial services” being developed by emerging high-tech firms, particularly in Asia, she recalls. When the team came across a small operation called Bonds In Asia, it saw it as “a big and exciting opportunity,” she says, and “invested tons of money” in what looked like a good risk: a platform that made trading Asian bonds simpler, quicker, more accessible.

“The way it actually turned out though — despite the great technology and the great people — was there just wasn't enough bonds in Asia” being traded to support the technology or the people to operate it, Band says.