Stockholm-based investment firm Hilbert Group (Nasdaq First North: HILB B) has acquired Danish algorithmic trading shop Enigma Nordic in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately SEK 335 million ($32 million). The acquisition integrates Enigma’s high-frequency trading (HFT) infrastructure directly into Hilbert’s asset management division, signaling a vertical move to capture execution spreads internally rather than outsourcing to third-party market makers.
Hilbert’s stock reacted positively, trading around 8.32 SEK (+4%) following the announcement.
The Deal Structure
According to the official disclosure, the transaction is heavily weighted toward performance. Hilbert will pay an initial $7.5 million in newly issued Class B shares. The remaining $17.5 million is structured as an earn-out, contingent on Enigma’s strategies generating $40 million in net income over the vesting period.
This structure protects Hilbert shareholders from immediate dilution while incentivizing Enigma’s founders, Andereas Friis and Jonas Söderqvist, who previously built and listed the ad-tech company Speqta.
Why Enigma?
Enigma Nordic specializes in market-neutral strategies, automated systems designed to profit from price inefficiencies regardless of market direction. The firm claims a Sharpe ratio exceeding 3.0, a metric indicating high risk-adjusted returns relative to volatility.
“Enigma brings both cutting-edge technology and an entrepreneurial team with a proven track record… Their market-neutral strategies have delivered very high Sharpe ratios and naturally complement our own quantitative platform.”
Institutional Context
The acquisition addresses a specific bottleneck for institutional crypto funds: capacity scaling. High-frequency strategies often suffer from slippage as capital grows. By acquiring Enigma, which reportedly processed SEK 50 billion in volume year-to-date, Hilbert secures proprietary execution rails capable of handling larger ticket sizes without degrading performance.
The integration begins immediately, with Hilbert planning to roll out new institutional products based on Enigma’s algorithms in Q1 2026.
