BGC Partners, Inc.
Company Name: BGC Partners, Inc.
Stock Market: NASDAQ (BGCP)
Industry Sector: Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services
Market Capitalisation: $183.8 million (as of November 2008)
Yearly Revenue: $159.2 million (as of 2007)
Operating Income: $38.8 million (as of 2007)
Net Income: $32.5 million (as of 2007)
Total Assets: $284.0 million (as of 2007)
Key People: Howard W. Lutnick (Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President), Frank V. Saracino (Chief Accounting Officer)
Headquarters Address: 110 East 59th Street,
New York , NY 10022
Number of Employees: 422 (as of 2007)
Website Address: www.espeed.com
Company Overview
BGC Partners, Inc., formerly known as eSpeed Inc., was incorporated in June 1999. BGC Partners, which is named after B. Gerald Cantor, its founder, is the world’s leading inter-dealer brokers specializing in the brokering of a range of financial products globally. Products include fixed income interests, foreign exchange, interest rate swaps, commodities, credit derivatives, equity derivatives, futures and structured products, and other instruments. BGC Partners also provides a variety of services, including trade execution, processing, clearing and other back office services. Currently active in America, Asia, and Europe, the company also provides information and analytics products.
BGC’s products and services help institutional traders make real-time transactions with U.S. Treasury securities, and European, Canadian, and Japanese government bonds. The company’s customers include banks, dealers, brokers, professional trading firms, future commission merchants, and other professional market participants.
In May 2005, voice broker Maxcor Financial Group Inc., including EuroBrokers Inc. and its other subsidiaries, was acquired by BGC Partners Inc. Since then, the business has grown substantially through a number of global acquisitions and hires. Later on, in 2006, BGC Partners acquired Aurel Leven, a leading French interdealer broker in equity, fixed income and equity derivatives markets. In December 2006, BGC Partners acquired AS Menkul, an established broker in Turkey. The company’s relationships with these leading interdealer brokers allowed them to strike into significant opportunities in voice-brokered businesses in which less commoditized products are traded.
During 2007, the company recorded $6.6 million of acquisition-related costs, which were primarily related to the merger, an increase of $4.6 million, as compared with $2.0 million of acquisition-related costs it recorded in 2006.
As of April 2008, the company merged with eSpeed Inc. and BGC Partners OldCo, by which BGC Partner’s OldCo’s voice brokerage business was combined with trading technology expertise and eSpeed’s electronic marketplaces. eSpeed’s technology had supported BGC Partner’s growth in hybrid and electronic trading.
BGC Partners’ revenues are gained mainly from brokerage fees charged for either matched principal transactions or agency, fees charged for software solutions, market data and analytics products, interest income, and fees from related parties. The company earns fees through certain administrative and back office services it provides to its related parties and affiliates. These services include office space, accounting services, human resource and operational support, utilization of fixed assets, information technology, and legal services.
BGC Partners incurred substantial losses in several recent periods, as it sought to expand its operations quickly. BGC Partners recorded net losses of $96.1 million and $123.4 million for the years 2005 and 2006, respectively. BGC Partners also registered net losses in some quarters of the next fiscal years. At the next corporate event you attend, try a pull up banner stand showcasing your own company.
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