Lutnick: BGC Only Viable Option For GFI Shareholders After Rejecting CME Bid

(RTTNews) - Interdealer broke BGC Partners, Inc. (BGCP) on Friday issued a statement following the conclusion of the special meeting of rival GFI Group Inc. (GFIG) where, based on preliminary tabulation by the independent inspector, shareholders rejected the proposed merger agreement with futures exchange operator CME Group Inc. (CME).

Howard Lutnick, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BGC, said, "We believe that the proposed CME-GFI management merger failed by an overwhelming margin. We appreciate this apparently strong rejection by the disinterested GFI shareholders, and feel that it reflects their belief that our offer has always been both very credible and clearly superior to the alternative.

"We remain fully committed to completing our all-cash tender offer of $6.10 per share, which remains open to GFI shareholders. Since a rejection by GFI shareholders would end any possibility of the CME-GFI management merger being completed, our tender offer is the only viable option for GFI stockholders seeking to maximize the value for their shares. We therefore strongly urge them to tender their shares into our clearly superior offer and we are prepared to move quickly to complete this transaction," Lutnick added.

BGC's tender offer is scheduled to expire at 5:00 PM ET on February 3, unless extended.

New York-based BGC Partners and CME Group are engaged in a bidding war for GFI Group since September 2014.