Ed Broking acquired by New York brokerage

BGC Partners Inc. will acquire London-based Ed Broking Group Ltd., the two firms announced Monday.

Further details of the transaction were not disclosed, and completion of the transaction is subject to legal and regulatory approvals and certain closing conditions, BGC said in a statement.

Ed is a global reinsurance, wholesale and specialty broker owned by New York-based Lightyear Capital LLC, which bought predecessor firm Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford Ltd. in 2012. According to an Ed spokesman in an email, Ed will continue to do business as Ed and Ed group CEO Steve Hearn will become head of BGC’s insurance vertical, which will include both Ed and Besso Insurance Group Ltd., which BGC acquired in 2017, once the Ed transaction is finalized.

BGC is a New York-based global brokerage and financial technology company.

Under the terms of the agreement, a subsidiary of BGC will acquire 100% of Ed, which includes broking operations under the Ed brand in the U.K., Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Miami and China, as well as its German marine broking arm Junge & Co., in addition to MGA operations Globe Underwriting in the U.K., Epsilon with offices in Australia, and Cooper Gay France in Paris, Ed said in a statement.