Bloomberg: BGC Enters Shipbroking, Buying 80 Year-Old Poten in Bet on LNG

16 November 2018: 

BGC Partners Inc. is entering the shipbroking market for the first time, buying Poten and Partners
Group Inc. to bet on demand for liquefied natural gas. Poten, which is based in New York, specializes in the LNG tanker and liquid petroleum gas markets, with 170 staff in offices from London to Singapore, Houston, Athens, Guangzhou and Perth. BGC didn’t disclose the purchase price for employee-owned Poten, which generated revenue of about $60 million last year.
“For a few years, we wanted to build our energy and commodities silo,’’ Shaun Lynn, BGC’s president, said in an interview Friday. “Poten is the best opportunity to grow into shipping and LPG tanker brokerage and consulting.’’ Lynn said BGC, the second-largest inter-dealer broker, is
looking to make more acquisitions in shipping and energy. The transaction comes after BGC bought insurance firm Ed Broking last month as it seeks to diversify its revenue and increase its
presence in fast-growing markets. Poten Chief Executive Officer Steven Garten said in an
interview that he foresees a 28 percent increase in demand for LNG over the coming years.
BGC already has a presence in the physical dry bulk and forward freight agreements businesses. No jobs are expected to be lost as part of the Poten deal, according to Lynn.