7,502,757

System and method for matching buyers and sellers in a marketplace

Issued:  March 10, 2009

Assignee:  i2 Technologies US, Inc. (Dallas, TX)

Inventors:  Schmidt; Craig (Sommerville, MA)

Abstract:  In accordance with the present invention, a system and method for matching buyers and sellers in a marketplace accepts limit bids and offers into a central system. Periodically, an optimizing algorithm is executed to match buyers and sellers. The algorithm utilizes techniques to maximize global utility. After buyers and sellers are matched, a transaction price is calculated for each pairing. The transaction price is selected to ensure that each participant executes the transaction at that participant's best effective transaction price.