More than 100 employees at the U.S. interdealer broker GFI Group have asked the company to alter their contracts to allow them to leave if a hostile takeover bid by a rival firm succeeds, according to a report on Sunday by the Financial Times.
Some of the people seeking to leave are senior employees, the report said, citing two people familiar with the matter. They are worried about working within the corporate culture of the bidding company, BGC partners, according to the report.
A spokesman for GFI declined to comment. Officials at BGC did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
In its quest to buy GFI, BGC has been engaging in a bidding war with futures market operator CME Group since September. CME last month raised its offer for GFI from its initial $4.55 per share bid to $5.25 per share, but BGC announced on Dec. 19 it was raising its rival bid to $5.45 per share and extending its tender offer to Jan. 6.
The New York Observer reported on Dec. 30 a group of top producing brokers from GFI told BGC's founder and chairman and its chief executive they would quit if BGC bought the company.
Join the Conversation