Infinium recently laid off a good portion of its staff, as it refocuses on commodities and energy.

Leading Forex broker FXCM has announced that it, alongside some of the principals of its Lucid Markets subsidiary, has lent $12 million to Chicago-based market maker Infinium Capital, via the purchase of a $12 million note issued by Infinium. Infinium is an electronic market maker in commodities and foreign exchange trading.

FXCM had reported earlier this summer that it had engaged in M&A talks with Infinium, but that nothing had yet occurred.

According to an article in Crain’s, Infinium earlier this year cut 11% of its staff as it eliminated trading in index-related futures contracts. That left Infinium with about 160 employees, and allowed it to focus on just commodities and energy market making. That followed Infinium’s decision last summer to scale back its workforce by 12 employees.

Infinium is among several Chicago-based firms which have shrunk over the past year as the city’s trading industry, the world’s largest for options and futures, grapples with lackluster volume that has crimped revenue — while at the same time facing a rise in costs tied to higher technology and regulatory expenses. Chicago, where the derivatives market was born, is home to about 85 trading firms, mainly smaller ones with fewer than 100 employees.

To see the complete FXCM press release click here. 

For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.