NASDAQ OMX AGREES TO ACQUIRE BWISE, A LEADING GOVERNANCE, RISK MANAGEMENT AND COMPLIANCE (GRC) SOFTWARE SOLUTION

NEW YORK – MAY 3 2012 – The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) today announced that it has agreed to acquire BWise, a global leader in enterprise governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) software.  BWise’s premium GRC platform will be available through NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions, a NASDAQ OMX software technology business dedicated to helping public and private companies minimize risk, maximize efficiency and increase transparency with a suite of governance, investor relations and public relations products.

With this acquisition, NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions now offers companies the ability to track, measure and manage key organizational risks – including the risk of non-compliance – with industry leading governance, management and compliance software and services.  Through the fully-integrated BWise GRC platform, NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions supports C-level executives and boards as they work to be more efficient managers of risk, increasing the transparency of their companies and allowing them to build more sustainable, compliant businesses.

Additionally, BWise’s premier case management, workflow management, reporting, and dashboard capabilities complement and enrich SMARTS, NASDAQ OMX’s industry-leading surveillance and compliance monitoring platform for brokers, exchanges and regulators. Together, these solutions provide broker-dealers with a holistic platform for market surveillance, compliance monitoring and risk management globally.

Established in 1994, BWise provides companies with a single software platform designed to cover all aspects of a company’s GRC needs. Using a unique process-based approach, BWise provides a single repository for companies to track, measure and manage critical corporate policies, controls and business risks across their entire business entity.  BWise is named a leader in the report, “The Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Governance, Risk, and Compliance Platforms, Q4 2011” and positioned as a leader in the Gartner MQ report 2011 for EGRC Platforms.

Bruce Aust, Executive Vice President, NASDAQ OMX:  “With increasing regulations and, subsequently, greater exposure to risk, GRC is seen as a key indicator of business performance and stability.  At NASDAQ OMX, we continue to be motivated by a strong desire to help our companies be more transparent, strategic and efficient.   We are excited to align BWise’s best-in-industry GRC solutions with our premium board portal, Directors Desk, as we continue to look for innovative ways to provide C-level executives and boards with relevant, integrated services.  We also look forward to continuing to promote the fairness, efficiency and integrity of the global marketplace with the integration of BWise and SMARTS.” 

Robert Pijselman, CEO, BWise: “This is a truly exciting moment for BWise.  We believe in a world where all key information related to compliance, risk, and sustainability is made available to stakeholders in an integrated, efficient way.”

Luc Brandts, CTO and Founder, BWise: “By partnering with NASDAQ OMX, we will add scale to the BWise team and strengthen our ability to provide industry-leading GRC solutions globally.  This acquisition allows us to continue to execute on our vision of becoming the GRC global market leader for our customers, employees and stakeholders."

For more information on BWise, please visit http://www.bwise.com/.  For more information on NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions, please visit: http://www.nasdaqomx.com/services/corporatesolutions/.

+46 8 405 6254

BWise

Clarinda Dobbelaar

Clarinda.Dobbelaar@bwise.com

+31 (0)73 6464915  

Please visit www.bwise.com/bwise-news-room for additional information.

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