Seymour Pierce thus far has not commented on the reports of Cantor Fitzgerald’s alleged interest, which appeared in the Financial Times and other publications. Cantor Fitzgerald also declined comment, the FT said.
In its report, the FT cited “people close to the discussions" as saying Cantor was "poised to buy" Seymour Pierce, though it quoted one unidentified person close to the talks as saying that there was no certainty a deal would be concluded.
The FT and others have noted that the small-cap broking business has been difficult recently, due to a dearth of deals in the currently subdued marketplace.
As reported, a spokesman for the company told International Adviser on Monday that the Seymour Pierce board had “received a number of offers”, and that the board was considering them, but did not provide details.
Although the traditionally UK-focused Seymour Pierce is not currently a player on the international scene, it recently revealed exclusively to International Adviser that it has begun to make its Core and Satellite asset management service available to investors outside the UK market for the first time.
Until now, this service had been available only to British investors.
