LeapRate has been closely following the interest that is currently being shown in British CFD and spread betting company IG Group (IGG:L), which has today been the subject of a further investment by Blackrock Investment Management (UK) Ltd.
The international investment management giant, one of the largest money managers in the United States, has acquired a 5% stake in IG Group, just weeks after North American fund management company Mass Financial took up a 10% interest in the British firm.
Blackrock’s acquisition of IG Group shares was publicized by the London Stock Exchange just a day before at roughly the same time as three senior directors of the firm, CEO Tim Howkins, COO Peter Hetherington, and CFO Christopher Hill exercised their options, netting a collective $5.1 million.
The company’s shares dropped slightly in value subsequent to the announcement in July by the London Stock Exchange that Mass Financial had acquired a 10% stakeholding, therefore two points of interest are imminent, the first being whether the increased interest from investment management firms outside the electronic trading industry could diversify IG Group’s offering and ultimately raise its value, and the second being whether the company is a potential merger and acquisition prospect in the near future.