LONDON, Feb. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- BGC Partners, Inc.
(NASDAQ: BGCP) ("BGC Partners", "BGC" or "the Company"1,
a leading global brokerage company servicing the financial and real
estate markets, today announced that it has completed the
acquisition of Besso Insurance Group Limited ("Besso")2,
an independent Lloyd's of London insurance broker with a
strong reputation across Property, Casualty, Marine, Aviation,
Professional and Financial Risks and Reinsurance.
Shaun D. Lynn, President
of BGC Partners, commented on today's announcement: "We are
delighted to complete the purchase of Besso, a company with a great
reputation, a strong record of growth and an excellent management
team that will provide our insurance brokerage business with a
strong foundation."
Furthermore, Christopher
Smith, a BGC executive, will join the Besso Board of
Directors to work with the existing management team and drive the
strategic growth plan.
Transaction Details
Under the terms of the agreement,
an affiliate of BGC has acquired 100 percent of Besso for a total
consideration of up to £70.5 million on an enterprise-value
basis. The purchase price is to be satisfied by a mix of cash
and BGC stock, to be paid in full only if certain performance
targets are met. For the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016, Besso generated
revenues of approximately £38 million and £45 million,
respectively3. BGC expects the acquisition to be
immediately accretive to distributable earnings per share upon
closing4. Besso had approximately 100
front-office employees as of year-end 2016.
About BGC Partners, Inc.
BGC Partners is a leading
global brokerage company servicing the financial and real estate
markets. BGC owns GFI Group Inc., a leading intermediary and
provider of trading technologies and support services to the global
OTC and listed markets. The Company's Financial Services offerings
include fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, foreign
exchange, equities, equity derivatives, credit derivatives,
commodities, futures, and structured products. BGC provides a wide
range of services, including trade execution, broker-dealer
services, clearing, trade compression, post trade, information, and
other services to a broad range of financial and non-financial
institutions. Through brands including FENICS, BGC Trader,
Capitalab, and BGC Market Data, BGC offers financial technology
solutions, market data, and analytics related to numerous financial
instruments and markets.
Real Estate Services are offered through brands including
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank,
Newmark Cornish & Carey, ARA,
Computerized Facility Integration, NGKF Valuation & Advisory,
and Excess Space. Under these names and others, the Company
provides a wide range of commercial real estate services, including
leasing and corporate advisory, investment sales and financial
services, consulting, project and development management, and
property and facilities management.
BGC's customers include many of the world's largest banks,
broker-dealers, investment banks, trading firms, hedge funds,
governments, corporations, property owners, real estate developers,
and investment firms. BGC's common stock trades on the NASDAQ
Global Select Market under the ticker symbol (NASDAQ: BGCP). BGC
also has an outstanding bond issuance of Senior Notes due
June 15, 2042, which trade on the New
York Stock Exchange under the symbol (NYSE: BGCA). BGC Partners is
led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Howard W.
Lutnick. For more information, please visit
http://www.bgcpartners.com. You can also follow the Company
at https://twitter.com/bgcpartners and/or
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bgc-partners.
BGC, BGC Trader, GFI, FENICS, FENICS.COM, Capitalab,
Swaptioniser, Newmark, Grubb & Ellis, ARA, Computerized
Facility Integration, Landauer, Lucera, and Excess Space, Excess
Space Retail Services, Inc., and Grubb are trademarks/service
marks, and/or registered trademarks/service marks and/or service
marks of BGC Partners, Inc. and/or its affiliates. Knight Frank is
a service mark of Knight Frank (Nominees) Limited.
Discussion of Forward-Looking Statements about BGC
Partners
Statements in this document regarding BGC that are
not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve
risks and uncertainties. Except as required by law, BGC undertakes
no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For a
discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause
actual results to differ from those contained in the
forward-looking statements, see BGC's Securities and Exchange
Commission filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors
set forth in the most recent Form 10-K and any updates to such risk
factors contained in subsequent Forms 10-Q or Forms 8-K.
About Besso Insurance Group Limited
Founded in 1967,
Besso offers insurance broking services across a number of
divisions including Property, Casualty, International, Marine,
Aviation, Professional and Financial Risks and Reinsurance. The
firm covers its markets globally from its headquarters
in London, with additional overseas offices
in Turkey, Brazil and Hong Kong. Besso Limited,
the Lloyd's of London registered broker and Optex Group
Limited, both wholly owned Besso subsidiaries, are Authorized and
Regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct
Authority. The Turkish subsidiary, Besso Sigorta ve Reasürans
Brokerliği Ltd, the Brazilian subsidiary, Besso Re Brasil Corretora
de Resseguros Ltda and the Hong Kong subsidiary, Besso
(Asia Pacific) Limited are
regulated in their respective countries.
1 via certain of its affiliates
2 and certain of its associated entities and
subsidiaries
3 Besso's 2016 results are unaudited.
4 See the sections of BGC's most recent financial
results press release titled "Distributable Earnings Defined",
"Differences Between Consolidated Results for Distributable
Earnings and GAAP", and "Reconciliation of GAAP Income (loss) to
Distributable Earnings" for the complete definition of these
non-GAAP terms and how, when and why management uses them, as well
as for the differences between results under GAAP and distributable
earnings for the periods discussed in that document.
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SOURCE BGC Partners, Inc.