SINGAPORE, Aug. 25, 2011
/PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The parent company of Saxo Capital Markets,
Saxo Bank, is pleased to announce that TPG Capital, one of the
world's leading investment firms, will become a major shareholder
in Saxo Bank.
Following a purchase agreement
signed yesterday, a TPG Capital affiliate will acquire a 30% stake
in the Company (along with an option to increase its stake to 40%)
from existing investors, including General Atlantic, a global
growth investor and Banco Espirito Santo, a leading Portuguese
bank, amongst others. The founders, Kim Fournais and Lars Seier
Christensen will retain majority ownership and continue in their
roles as CEOs, also in the event that TPG Capital exercises its
option to acquire 40%. TPG Capital's investment is subject to
customary regulatory and competition authority approvals.
General Atlantic invested in Saxo
Bank in 2005 and both Espirito Santo Financial Group and Banco
Espirito Santo invested in Saxo Bank in 2008. Banco Espirito Santo
will continue to build the commercial cooperation that the bank has
had with Saxo Bank since 2008, namely through Banco BEST that is
owned by both entities.
Kim Fournais and Lars Seier
Christensen, founders, CEOs and majority shareholders in Saxo Bank
said in a joint statement:
"We are delighted to welcome one of
the world's leading investment firms as a major shareholder and
business partner. This new phase in Saxo Bank's growth stems from
the strong foundation built with the support from our selling
shareholders, who have shared in our success to date. We
remain enthusiastic about Saxo Bank's future and look forward to
working with TPG Capital to capitalise on the many opportunities
ahead."
Asiff Hirji, Partner at TPG Capital
said:
"Saxo Bank has achieved impressive
growth and we look forward to supporting the future diversification
strategy. TPG Capital has a strong track record of investing in and
growing financial services businesses, particularly those seeking
further expansion in emerging markets, where we see tremendous
opportunities for Saxo Bank. We look forward to working with
its two founders and CEOs."
Bill Ford, CEO of General Atlantic
and Ricardo Salgado, CEO of Banco Espirito said in a joint
statement:
"We have been pleased with our
partnership with Saxo Bank over the last several years and consider
this a very successful investment."
Disclaimer:
Saxo Capital Markets Pte. Ltd.
("Saxo Capital Markets") is licensed as a Capital Market Services
provider and an Exempt Financial Advisor, and is supervised by the
Monetary Authority of Singapore.
You should carefully consider
whether trading in leveraged products is appropriate for you in the
light of your financial circumstances. You should be aware that
dealing in products that are highly leveraged carry significantly
greater risk than non-geared investments such as share trading. As
such, you could both gain and lose large amounts of money. You may
sustain losses in excess of the moneys you initially deposit and
also in excess of the margin required to establish and maintain any
positions in leveraged products.
For further information, please
see:
http://sg.saxomarkets.com/about-us/general-disclaimer
About Saxo Capital
Markets
Saxo Capital Markets Pte Ltd is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Saxo Bank A/S, the
Copenhagen-headquartered online trading and investment specialist.
It serves as the Asia Pacific headquarters and holds a Capital
Markets Services license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Saxo Capital Markets also holds a Commodity Broker licence from The
International Enterprise Singapore.
Clients can trade Forex, CFDs,
Stocks, Futures, Options and other derivatives via SaxoWebTrader
and SaxoTrader, its leading multi-asset online trading
platforms.
SaxoTrader is available directly
through Saxo Capital Markets or through one of its institutional
clients. White labelling is a significant business area for Saxo
Capital Markets, and involves customising and branding of its
online trading platform for other financial institutions and
brokers.
Saxo's position as an established FX
house and its leading role in the foreign exchange market has been
recognised by the industry's leading reviews. In 2011, the Saxo
Bank Group picked up six awards at the Euromoney annual FX survey
for the following categories: Best Improved Overall Market Share by
Volume ($10bn - $25bn) and ($5bn - $10bn), Best Speed of Execution,
Best Research and Analytics, Best Effective Risk Management and
Execution Strategies and Best Integrated Workflow and Compliance
Solutions. Saxo Bank was also named "Best Forex Broker in Northern
Europe" and "Best White Label Solution Provider" in the World
Finance Foreign Exchange Awards 2011.
For more information, please
visit www.saxomarkets.com.sg
About TPG
Capital
TPG Capital is the global buyout
group of TPG, a leading private investment firm founded in 1992,
with $48 billion of assets under management and offices in Beijing,
Fort Worth, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Melbourne, Moscow,
Mumbai, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore and
Tokyo. TPG Capital has deep global financial services
expertise with investments that have included Bank Thai, BTPN,
Fidelity National Information Services, Korea First Bank, LPL
Financial Services, Shenzhen Development Bank, Shriram City Union
Finance and Taishin Holdings, among others. The Firm also has
extensive technology experience with investments that have included
Aptina, Hotwire, Intergraph, Lenovo, MEMC, Sabre Holdings, Seagate,
SunGard, and Vertafore, among others.
Media contacts:
SOURCE Saxo Capital Markets