CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) and GFI Group Inc. (NYSE: GFIG) just announced that they have revised their agreement to increase the bid aimed at GFI stockholders to $5.60 per share, payable in a mix of shares and cash.
This move comes only a day after BGC Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: BGCP) announced its latest proposal, increasing to $5.60 per share its all-cash offer to acquire all outstanding shares of GFI. The two firms have been engaged in a fierce bidding war for the takeover of GFI since July 2014.
This new offer price represents more than an 80% premium above the closing price of $3.11 per share for GFI Group's common stock as of July 29, 2014, the last day of trading prior to the announcement of the CME transaction.
As part of the revised bid, the purchase price to be paid for GFI Group's wholesale brokerage business was increased to approximately $282 million, up from $254 million in cash, along with the assumption of approximately $77 million in liabilities. The deal is being led by a private consortium of GFI Group management, including Executive Chairman Michael Gooch, CEO Colin Heffron and Managing Director Nick Brown,
CME Group is also contributing $9.5 million in additional stock consideration to GFI shareholders.
Together, these new contributions deliver an approximately $37 million increase in purchase price to all GFI Group stockholders, excluding the shares held by the GFI Group Management Consortium through Jersey Partners Inc., which will not partake in the $0.35 per share increase announced today and will only receive $5.25 per share.
GFI Group's Board of Directors, acting upon the unanimous recommendation of the Special Committee, continues to recommend that GFI Group's stockholders vote to approve the CME Merger agreement. GFI Group will hold a special meeting of its stockholders on January 27, 2015 to vote on the CME and BGC offers.
