LeapRate Exclusive… LeapRate has learned from industry sources that FXCM’s next asset sale will be that of its regulated UK CFD arm FXCM Stock Trading. Apparently FXCM is in advanced negotiations to sell FXCM Stock Trading to AS Expobank.
Controlled by Russian multimillionaire Igor Kim, Expobank is one of the oldest banks in Latvia, with a branch in Cyprus and a representative office in Hong Kong.
FXCM Stock Trading is the trading name of FXCM Securities Limited, one of two FCA regulated arms of FXCM Inc (NYSE:FXCM) in the UK. It originated as the business FXCM acquired from ODL Securities in 2010 for $52 million, and was kept since as a separate corporate entity with a separate FCA license from FXCM’s ‘main’ regulated UK arm.
Recently, FXCM had rolled out its Phoenix multi-asset trading platform to clients of FXCM Stock Trading, aiming it more at the CFD trading crowd than its base currency trading clients. FXCM had planned to open Phoenix to a wider client base, but it never happened. Phoenix is likely to go over to Expobank as part of the deal.
Holding up the deal is FCA approval for the transaction, which would give Expobank an important foothold in the UK market.
For its part, FXCM neither confirmed nor denied the pending transaction to LeapRate, stating ‘We have nothing to announce at this time.’
FXCM has been holding a series of non-core assets sales, raising cash to repay its $300 million loan from Leucadia National Corp (NYSE:LUK) made in the wake of huge losses FXCM incurred from the ‘Black Thursday’ Swiss Franc spike in mid January. FXCM Asia was sold to Japanese giant Rakuten Securities in May for $36 million, after Rakuten also bought FXCM Japan in March for $62 million. Institutional arm Faros Trading was sold to Jefferies LLC.
Stay tuned to LeapRate as we continue to follow this story.