BGC Group Announces Agreement to Sell kACE Financial to smartTrade Technologies SAS

Key Terms

fx derivatives financial

FX derivatives are financial contracts that let investors and companies lock in or bet on future exchange rates between two currencies, effectively agreeing today on a price to buy or sell a currency at a later date. They matter because they can protect a business or portfolio from sudden currency swings or be used to profit from expected moves—like buying insurance against a price change or placing a directional bet—so they influence both risk and valuation.

contingent cash consideration financial

Contingent cash consideration is an extra payment a buyer agrees to pay the seller only if specific future events happen, such as hitting sales targets or getting regulatory approval — think of it like a performance bonus paid later. Investors care because it changes the effective price of a deal, creates uncertain future cash flows and risk that can alter valuation and returns, and signals how the buyer and seller share risk over unknown outcomes.

u.s. gaap regulatory

U.S. GAAP is a set of rules and standards that companies in the United States follow to prepare their financial reports. It helps ensure that financial information is consistent and clear, so investors and others can compare and understand a company's financial health easily.

adjusted earnings financial

Adjusted earnings are a company’s profit figure that has been altered to remove one-time, unusual or non-operational items so it better reflects the business’s regular performance. Think of it like looking at a household budget but ignoring a big, unusual expense or windfall to see what normal monthly cash flow looks like; investors use adjusted earnings to compare companies and trends, but should watch what is excluded because choices can change the picture.

• Transaction valued at up to $119 million and demonstrates BGC’s ongoing commitment to unlock value for shareholders

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BGC Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGC) (“BGC” or “the Company”) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell the business of kACE Financial (“kACE”), a leading provider of real-time pricing and advanced analytics platforms for complex FX derivatives, to smartTrade Technologies SAS (“smartTrade”), a global leader in multi-asset electronic trading and payments solutions.

Under the terms of the deal, kACE is valued up to $119 million, subject to limited post-closing adjustments. This includes an initial payment of $80 million, with up to an additional $39 million in contingent cash consideration based on defined performance metrics some of which is expected to be received in 2026.

“We are proud of the FX options pricing and analytics franchise the kACE team has developed within BGC,” said Sean Windeatt, Co-CEO of BGC Group. “This transaction delivers significant value for our shareholders and positions kACE to enter an exciting new chapter as part of smartTrade. We will continue to focus on expanding our high-margin, technology-driven Fenics platforms to deliver innovative solutions across multiple asset classes.”

David Vincent, CEO & Co-Founder at smartTrade, said: “This is a transformational moment for our joint clients. kACE brings a world-class team and sophisticated FX derivatives technology that is highly complementary to our existing multi-asset trading and payments offering. By integrating kACE’s deep derivatives expertise and cutting-edge analytics, we can now deliver even greater value to clients through a truly end-to-end solution that offers a clear competitive advantage.”

The transaction is expected to close by end of year 2025, subject to customary closing conditions. Any gains associated with the sale are expected to be included in BGC’s consolidated results under U.S. GAAP but are expected to be excluded from the Company’s results for Adjusted Earnings.

About BGC Group, Inc.

BGC Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: BGC) is a leading global marketplace, data, and financial technology services company for a broad range of products, including fixed income, foreign exchange, energy, commodities, shipping, equities, and now includes the FMX Futures Exchange. BGC’s clients are many of the world’s largest banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, trading firms, hedge funds, governments, corporations, and investment firms. BGC and leading global investment banks and market-making firms have partnered to create FMX, part of the BGC Group of companies, which includes a U.S. interest rate futures exchange, spot foreign exchange platform, and the world’s fastest growing U.S. cash treasuries platform. For more information about BGC, please visit www.bgcg.com.

About smartTrade Technologies SAS

smartTrade Technologies is a global leader in multi-asset electronic trading and payments solutions. Our secure, reliable, and scalable platforms enable banks, brokers, buy-side institutions, and corporates to achieve significant business growth through secure, cost-efficient, and technologically advanced SaaS solutions. Headquartered in Aix-en-Provence, France, smartTrade has a global presence with offices in major financial centres.

Discussion of Forward-Looking Statements about BGC

Statements in this document regarding BGC that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These include statements about the Company's business, results, financial position, liquidity, cash position and outlook, and statements related to the completion of the disposition described above, which may constitute forward-looking statements and are subject to the risk that the actual impact may differ, possibly materially, from what is currently expected. Except as required by law, BGC undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For a discussion of additional risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see BGC's Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings, including, but not limited to, the risk factors and Special Note on Forward-Looking Information set forth in these filings and any updates to such risk factors and Special Note on Forward-Looking Information contained in subsequent reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q or Form 8-K.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251211602315/en/

MEDIA

Danielle Popper

press@bgcg.com

Source: BGC Group, Inc.