BGC Responds to CME for GFI Acquisition - Raises Contingent & Non-Contingent Offers

Leading US financial brokerage firm, BGC, has retaliated against CME’s earlier bid for its proposed Acquisition of GFI. The latest offer of $5.85 is a 4.5% higher value than CME’s. The two firms have been playing cat and mouse for GFI, BGC’s current offer is the third over the last two-days.

BGC continues to raise the bar for GFI in a two-company race for the purchase. The firm has issued a new and higher bid which is dependent on GFI’s committee and board supporting. The move highlights BGC’s commitment on ensuring that it is the preferred buyer of GFI.

Howard Lutnick, pictured, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BGC, commented in a statement: "Both our proposed revised offer and the immediate increase to our tender offer are clearly superior to the current transaction in place between CME and GFI Management. It is up to the GFI special committee and board to act immediately in the best interest of all GFI shareholders and exercise their fiduciary duties by determining that our offer is superior to the proposed CME-GFI Management transaction.

Once again we have demonstrated our commitment to completing this transaction and we urge GFI shareholders to support our actions. Throughout this process, BGC's involvement has been the only reason GFI shareholders have been offered significantly greater value for their investment. The fact that GFI Management has increased its price by $1.05 per share only in response to our offers demonstrates how severely the original agreement with CME drastically undervalued GFI for the sole benefit of GFI Management," added Mr. Lutnick.

BGC also reported it had made an immediate and non-contingent increase to its all-cash tender offer price to $5.75 and extended the expiration date for the tender offer. If a material change to the tender offer is made, the relevant rules require the Company to extend the expiration date of the tender offer to ensure that there is sufficient time between the change and the expiration of the tender offer. The tender offer is now scheduled to expire at 5:00 pm New York City time on January 29, 2015, unless extended.

Details in the note state that the offer was previously scheduled to expire at 5:00 pm New York City time, on January 27, 2015. BGC has given the GFI special committee and board until noon on Monday, January 19, 2015, to commence the "match period" under GFI's Merger agreement with CME Group, in order to accept the $5.85 per share price.

in 2014, CME acquired Trayport and Fenics from GFI Group.