ACM re-acquires ex-Refco shareholding

The deal, negotiated a year after the collapse of Refco in October 2005, sees the initial offered buyback price reduced to approximately Sfr25 million ($20 million).

ACM is re-acquiring a stake that Refco had bought for an undisclosed sum in June 2004 (FX Week, July 5, 2004). The sale was hoped to boost the platform's standing in the high-net-worth and institutional market.

In the wake of the default of its majority shareholder, ACM picked up "a good number of ex-Refco clients", with only a handful of customers having left (FX Week, October 24, 2005). ACM said last week that it has since almost tripled its client base, with revenues increasing considerably.

Lloyd la Marca, co-founder and manager of ACM Markets in Geneva, said: "We're happy to finally be over this hurdle and are very content with the financial terms of the deal, which we consider to be extremely advantageous, seeing the market value of ACM stock today."

"This deal demonstrates the confidence we have in our company and how eager we are to re-invest in ACM in order to continue our growth," added Nicholas Bang, managing director and partner at the company in Geneva.

The deal was closed on April 13.