Alice Corporation Pty Ltd Information

Alice Corporation Pty Ltd (Alice) was founded by privately-held Alice Ventures Pty Ltd (AV) in the early 1990s. National Australia Bank Limited (NAB) became a shareholder in 1995 and a 50% shareholder in 2000. Initially focussed on developing a product utilising its Alice Market design, Alice spent many years with functional experts building several working prototypes of an Alice Market. While central electronic markets have operated for standard futures and options products for many years, the largest segment of the global derivatives market has operated outside these markets. Global regulatory change is now requiring that the majority of global derivatives contracts be traded on central electronic markets and cleared through clearing houses. This new world presents opportunities for innovative electronic markets such as an Alice Market. In 2000, Alice began offering its intellectual property for licensing. The Company approached CLS Bank International (CLS) in 2002, shortly after CLS began operations, to offer it a license. Discussions continued after this, but without resolution. In 2007, CLS filed a declaratory judgement against Alice in the United States. From 2007 to the present time, Alice's resources have primarily been diverted to the CLS litigation which has meant that the Company's efforts to commercialize Alice have assumed a secondary role.