TP ICAP plc has announced earlier this week the proposed acquisition of Louis Capital Markets and MidCap Partners. The company, collectively known as Louis Capital, is a private brokerage group specialising in equities and fixed income.
Louis Capital is primarily based in Europe, operating in London and Paris, but has offices in New York, Hong Kong and Tel Aviv. The group specialises in cash equities and equity derivatives, fixed income and small cap advisory services. The founders Michael Benhamou and Patrice Cohen will remain as senior management.
Completion of the transaction is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2020 and is subject to regulatory approval by the UK FCA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in the U.S. and other relevant regulators.
The initial consideration for the acquisition is $21 million in cash payable at Completion with deferred non-contingent consideration of $6 million that will be paid over two years. There is a further $17 million of deferred contingent consideration that may be payable dependent upon the performance of the business over three to five years. Finally, there is potential additional consideration via a profit share dependent upon the performance of the business.
For the year ended 31 December 2018, Louis Capital made profit before tax of $4.3m. At 31 December 2018, it had gross assets of $35.4m.
Nicolas Breteau, CEO of TP ICAP, commented:
Louis Capital’s strong brand and breadth of equity, equity derivatives and fixed income products complement our existing offering and strengthen TP ICAP’s position in Continental Europe.
Michael Benhamou and Patrice Cohen, co-CEOs of Louis Capital said:
We strongly believe that the Louis Capital business will be an excellent cultural fit to TP ICAP. We are committed to developing it further within the group.
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