FXCM Closes FastMatch Sale, $66.8m Still Owed to Leucadia

FXCM has taken one step closer to paying off its loan to Leucadia (NYSE:LUK) today, closing on the sale of its stake in ECN FastMatch Inc. Upon its closing, FXCM garnered approximately $46.7 million for its stake, which now leaves $66.8 million outstanding on its original Leucadia loan from a couple years ago.

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The multi asset provider of FX, contracts-for-difference (CFDs) and spread betting services has already been taking concerted steps to pay off its existing loan to Leucadia – the loan itself dates back to 2015 after the Swiss National Banking (SNB) crisis convulsed the FX industry.

Per the details of the deal, FXCM will receive $46.7 million in cash on closing, with $8.7 million held in escrow – these funds are subject to potential future adjustments. By extension, FXCM will also receive an addition boost in the form of a share of a $10 million earnout, pending certain performance targets of FastMatch are met.

The diminishing figure of $66.8 million constitutes a significantly lower sum than one year ago when FXCM still owed $192.5 million as of August 2016. Leucadia had originally been targeting 2017 for the full repayment of its outstanding loan – a feat FXCM may still accomplish heading into the year’s end following the sales of additional stakes and assets.

Brendan Callan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FXCM Group, commented on the closing sale of FastMatch: "With the close of this deal we have made a significant step towards reducing the Leucadia debt.”