BGC Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGCP), a leading inter-dealer broker of financial instruments, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Liquidez DTVM Ltda. (“Liquidez”), a leading Brazilian inter-dealer broker of foreign exchange derivatives, commodities, credit, equities, and interest rate products.
BGC Partners Finalizes Acquisition of Liquidez
Founded in 1985, Liquidez is amongst Brazil’s top inter-dealer brokers, accounting for 13.7% of all contracts traded in May 2009 on the BM&F segment of BM&FBOVESPA. The Brazilian Mercantile & Futures Exchange (BM&F) recently merged with BOVESPA to create BM&FBOVESPA, the world’s fourth largest exchange by market capitalization according to the Financial Times.
The deal marks an important step for BGC Partners, Inc. as it looks to further increase its presence in Latin America. Brazil is the largest market in the region and continues to grow despite challenging conditions in the global financial markets, achieving over 5% per capita GDP growth in 2008 according to the IMF1.
Lee Amaitis, vice chairman of BGC Partners, Inc. said: “We are very pleased to have finalized this deal with Liquidez. Liquidez has a long and impressive track record in Brazil and a highly professional team of brokers. Latin America is a key area of growth for BGC and Brazil is a particularly attractive market for us, given its continued growth and strong fundamentals. The Brazilian financial markets are also among the most broadly and cautiously regulated in the world2. The acquisition of Liquidez gives us a significant platform for future growth in the region.”
Arnaldo Cezar Coelho, president and ceo of Liquidez, added: “BGC’s global reach and sophisticated proprietary technology opens up tremendous opportunities for our Brazilian clients, giving them access to BGC’s extensive range of products and significant liquidity. BGC’s global customers will also now have access to local products on the Brazilian Exchange, increasing business for the Brazilian markets.”
