BGC Partners acquires Besso

We are pleased to announce the successful sale of Besso to BGC Partners subject to regulator approval.

BGC Partners is a leading global brokerage company servicing the financial and real estate markets. They are experts in their fields, agile and dynamic in their approach, and built upon the foundation of cutting edge technology and exceptional talent.

They very much see themselves as Brokers and after great success in the Financial Services arena as Voice and Electronic Brokers and more recently in the Real Estate Business under the name of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank they are now venturing into Insurance via the Besso Group.

There has been much interest in our Company over the last year from Trade, Private Equity and Conglomerates and whilst flattering, we believed strongly as a Board that we needed to ensure that we maintained our independent status. The sale to BGC has achieved this.  Our belief is that this will ensure we  continue to attract entrepreneurial talent whilst protecting our staff and very importantly we are not seen as potential competition to our Quality Client base.

With the combined financial strength of our two companies the future looks very bright.

In my comments in the BGC Press announcement I stated

“I am delighted that Besso is becoming a part of BGC, a larger and better capitalized company with a global footprint and demonstrable success in building brokerage businesses. The opportunities this deal presents are substantial. BGC and its affiliates have deep relationships with leading companies in real estate, financial services, and other industries, which we believe will help us in growing our existing franchise. I would like to thank all Besso staff and management for their hard work in getting us to this point and also B.P. Marsh for their strong support throughout the last 21 years. All of us at Besso look forward to this new beginning.”

Upon the close of the transaction, I will continue on as Chairman but will stand down as CEO of Besso Insurance Group Limited and Robert Dowman and Russ Nichols will become Joint CEOs of the Group.

Colin Bird