The parent of Poten & Partners may have larger ambitions than to merely acquire London-based Oil Brokerage.
Sources are telling TradeWinds that the purchase ambitions of the BCG Group are not confined to negotiating an acquisition of Oil Brokerage with its parent, OTC Global Holdings.
Rather, the discussions that leaked into the market last week in a TradeWinds report are focused on BCG taking over OTC Global itself, according to a person familiar with the talks.
“It’s the whole business, not just OB,” he said.
TradeWinds had reported on 26 September that BCG was negotiating with OTC Global about selling Oil Brokerage, with one source describing the deal as “almost done”.
The further perspective puts those talks in a somewhat different context.
However, sources are continuing to say that, if the buyout goes through, it is unlikely the Poten and Oil Brokerage businesses will be merged.
They speculated that instead both companies would remain under the same group ownership but continue to work as separate entities.
BGC is headed by chairman and chief executive Howard Lutnick, who also holds the same role at financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald. BGC bought Poten & Partners in 2018.
Oil Brokerage, which was set up in 1989, is led by former Trafigura trader James McNicol, who is chief executive.
It works in paper and physical trades and serves the oil trading sector.
The company was bought by OTC Global in 2017 and expanded its reach into other commodity sectors.
Oil Brokerage began to attract more attention in shipping circles two years ago when the company started diving in to snap up brokers with offers of large salaries.
TradeWinds reported on some of the first hires in June 2022 as brokers from Gibson and Braemar joined the expanding rival.
More hires followed, notably in the US and Geneva, and Oil Brokerage also now boasts offices in Singapore and Dubai, with sights set on Athens.
The latest move was reported by TradeWinds on 27 September, as Oil Brokerage hired former Braemar and Clarksons VLCC specialist David Collins to become its London-based head of projects.
