US Hedge Fund Asks TP ICAP to Explore a Sale, Shares Skyrocket

Shares of TP ICAP soared over 11% across the board on Wednesday after US hedge fund Phase 2 Partners asked the company to explore the possibility of a sale.

According to Reuters, the London-listed company was urged to look for a new ownership structure through a possible sale or merger with another global trading platform held by Phase 2 Partners, which holds 7.7 million shares.

“I currently see your shares as significantly undervalued. [I] believe management’s lack of stock ownership represents a significant governance failure... and believe the company needs to make decisive steps immediately to benefit long-suffering shareholders,” Justin Hughes, the Founder of Phase 2 Partners, commented in a letter dated March 22.

In a letter published on Wednesday, Richard Berliand, the Chairman of TP ICAP, is urged to take all board compensation as equity.

In response to the letter, a spokesman for TP ICAP stated that the company maintains an active dialogue with its investors, and that it is focused on delivering value to shareholders. As of Tuesday’s close, shares of the company, which matches buyers and sellers of securities, lost 28% of their value in 2021.

Hudson River Trading Integration

TP ICAP recently added Hudson River Trading, a quantitative trading firm, to its new Digital Assets Spot platform, which will be launched soon.

A new institutional digital asset trading platform will be launched by the inter-dealer broker later this year, but it still needs to be approved by regulators. Using the platform, traders will have access to a wholesale market for spot crypto asset trading, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. Founded in 2002, Hudson offers a sophisticated computing environment for algorithmic trading. TP ICAP is optimistic that the algorithmic trading will provide diversified liquidity to its upcoming platform, ensuring competitive buying and selling prices.

Furthermore, TP ICAP continued the expansion of its services in other areas and is going to launch an electronic foreign exchange trading platform in Singapore. However, it recorded an 81 percent drop in 2021 profits, despite a marginal revenue increase.

Shares of TP ICAP soared over 11% across the board on Wednesday after US hedge fund Phase 2 Partners asked the company to explore the possibility of a sale.