BGC, a leading inter-dealer brokerage firm providing integrated voice and electronic services to wholesale fixed income, interest rate, foreign exchange and derivatives markets worldwide, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Radix Energy through a new BGC subsidiary to be named BGC Radix Energy.
The transaction is expected to close in early March 2008.
Based in Singapore, BGC Radix Energy will enable BGC to offer its clients voice and electronic brokerage services in the world's energy markets for the first time, with products including crude oil, naptha, middle distillates, fuel oil and freight swap derivatives. Richard Tan, Managing Director of Radix Energy, established the company in 2000 and has expanded the business since then to over 30 staff, who will continue to be based in Singapore serving clients throughout the region and beyond. Mr Tan will remain with the business as a Managing Director responsible for BGC's energy division. He will report locally to Craig Bannister, Managing Director at BGC in Singapore and regionally to Mark Webster, Executive Managing Director and General Manager, Asia and Mark Spring, Executive Managing Director, Asia at BGC.
Commenting on the transaction, Shaun Lynn, President of BGC, said, "World energy markets have experienced the same tremendous volatility as elsewhere in recent months and acquiring Radix Energy gives BGC the opportunity to offer existing clients access to these markets and clients of Radix access to BGC's global price discovery, execution and transaction processing services."
Mr Tan said, "It is an important development for Radix Energy, because the business will be able to take advantage of BGC's technology platform and investment in order to further expand its brokerage of energy products. It will enable BGC Radix Energy to become a major energy brokerage house, providing services to existing clients in Singapore and further afield to new clients in Europe and the US."
The acquisition will mark the latest development in the growth and expansion of BGC which now has over 1,700 staff in 14 offices around the world; it follows the previous acquisitions of Euro Brokers, ETC Pollak, Aurel Leven Securities, the equity derivatives business of Marex Financial and the announcement that BGC is to merge with eSpeed Inc., subject to the relevant regulatory and other approvals.