AvaTrade Stratos bid has emerged for Stratos, the operator of FXCM and Tradu, while a crypto exchange has also reportedly made an offer.
Finance Magnates Intelligence reported that AvaTrade wants to buy the business from Jefferies Financial Group. The report said AvaTrade has allegedly submitted an offer. However, a crypto exchange is now also showing interest and has allegedly made a bid.
Jefferies is reportedly weighing a sale of Stratos, which runs the two contracts for differences brands. The report said AvaTrade wants to acquire all of Stratos except FXCM Bullion Limited. That unit is based in Hong Kong and handles accounts and servicing for clients in China and Hong Kong.
AvaTrade Stratos Bid Faces Competition
The financial terms and conditions of the offers were not clear. Finance Magnates said it contacted AvaTrade about the status of the deal, but did not receive confirmation.
The winning bidder would gain control of the FXCM brand, which the report described as still prominent in the CFD industry. Meanwhile, Tradu is newer and appears not to have gained traction. Earlier this year, Tradu stopped taking new clients and began moving existing clients to FXCM.
Tradu also launched a crypto exchange and holds a MiCA license in Cyprus. In addition, Finance Magnates reported last December that Stratos was preparing to cut more than 100 jobs. An internal source also said the future of the Tradu brand may be under review.
FXCM Ownership Shift Under Jefferies
FXCM was founded in 1999 in New York. The company was among the first brokers to give retail traders online access to forex markets. It later became the largest retail forex broker in the US and Asia, and it became the first in the sector to list on the NYSE in 2010.
Jefferies took a stake in FXCM in January 2015 through a $300 million bailout. That came after the Swiss franc crisis erased $225 million in client equity overnight. As a result, Jefferies secured a 49.9 per cent voting interest.
In September 2023, Jefferies took full ownership after foreclosing on FXCM parent GLBR, which had defaulted on a credit facility backed by its equity stake in FXCM. FXCM then became a wholly owned subsidiary of Jefferies and was later rebranded as Stratos Group in 2023.
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