By Angela Chen
BGC Partners Inc. said Thursday that it expects to reach a
consensual agreement to buy brokerage GFI Group Inc. for $778
million, following a monthslong bidding war with rival CME Group
Inc.
BGC Chief Executive Howard Lutnick said the company has
"actively engaged" in discussions with GFI and expects to reach an
agreement to complete its $6.10 a share all-cash tender offer.
A representative from GFI wasn't immediately available for
comment.
Shares of GFI are up about 1% in midday trading.
Last month, shareholders voted down GFI's planned sale to CME
for $5.85 a share, which put the company on the clock to outrun a
hostile bid from BGC.
GFI Chief Executive Mickey Gooch said at the time that the
company was disappointed that the CME merger wasn't approved and it
would work to find a strategic alternative to maximize the value of
shareholders' investment.
BGC and CME had been locked in a bidding war over GFI since last
summer. The CME deal would have seen the operator of the Chicago
and New York mercantile exchanges acquire all of GFI for about $750
million and sell back the brokerage business to GFI executives.
BGC has conditioned its bid on getting two-thirds of GFI's
director seats, among other things. BGC can waive that requirement,
but then risks finding itself with a hefty stake and little
influence.
The BGC's tender off expires Thursday.
Write to Angela Chen at angela.chen@dowjones.com
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