OTC Europe Acquires Oil Brokerage Limited

Leading IDB bolsters liquidity and strengthens product offerings, continues geographic expansion with addition of global physical and financial oil products firm

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OTC Global Holdings

Oct 03, 2017, 07:00 ET

LONDON, Oct. 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Europe, LLP, a subsidiary of leading independent commodities interdealer broker OTC Global Holdings (OTCGH), today announced the acquisition of Oil Brokerage Limited, a London-based global physical and financial oil products firm.

The acquisition further strengthens OTC Europe's and OTCGH's position as a major global player across all commodity markets by deepening its liquidity pools, product offerings, expertise and information resources in the global physical and financial oil products. Coming on the heels of the formation of OTC Asia in Singapore at the beginning of this year, it also continues OTCGH's geographic expansion and marks another significant milestone for the company as it celebrates its 10^th anniversary in 2017.

"Putting these two firms together brings unparalleled value to our clients and employees. Both companies have had incredible success and growth, especially in the last five years when many of our peers in commodities have folded, sold or floundered," said Joe Kelly, OTCGH President and Co-CEO. "While we typically build our own firms, we also have made strategic acquisitions and Oil Brokerage was strong in areas of the market we weren't in yet but saw an opportunity."

Established in late 1988, Oil Brokerage specializes in the brokering of Physical Gasoline, Gasoline Components, Gasoline Swaps, Physical Naphtha, Naphtha Swaps, Fuel Oil, LPG and Freight Futures (FFA) for clients such as major oil companies, oil trading divisions of investment banks and commodity houses as well as other established independent trading concerns and funds. It has more than 70 employees working at offices in London and Singapore.

Oil Brokerage will become one of OTC Europe's brokering groups, joining the London office's Aalpha Energy, Ion Energy UK, Choice! UK and P&P Oil desks, and will have the ability to leverage OTCGH's global network of 20 independent portfolio companies in Chicago, Des Moines, Geneva, Houston, London, Louisville, New Jersey, New York and Singapore as well as technology resources such as the company's EOXLive platform to serve its clients.

"A decade ago we structured our agile and innovative business model with deals like this in mind. This acquisition again exemplifies why that model works as we can bring in a company like Oil Brokerage, allowing them to maintain their independence and ability to offer specialized products while at the same time enjoying the financial, managerial and technological resources needed to compete effectively in today's rapidly changing marketplace," added Kelly.

"This deal is a sound strategic move for our company," said James McNicol, Oil Brokerage's Managing Director. "We've had major success in Europe over the years and recently expanded our business in Asia. OB has been pursued by a number of suitors during our nearly 30 years in business, however, the opportunity to accelerate our growth within OTC Global's structure is something we are genuinely excited about and look forward to greatly. ."

OTC Europe's office is located at 10 Finsbury Square, 5^th floor, London, United Kingdom, EC2A 1AF. For more information about OTC Europe or its divisions, visit www.otcgh.com or call +44 (0) 20 7726 8601.

About OTC Global Holdings
Formed in 2007, OTC Global Holdings has become the world's largest independent institutional broker of commodities, covering financial and physical instruments from offices in Chicago, Des Moines, Geneva, Houston, London, Louisville, New Jersey, New York and Singapore. The company is a leading liquidity provider on CBOT, ICE, NYMEX and NFX, ranking number one amongst its peers in numerous derivatives contracts across biofuels, emissions, commodity index products, crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), metals, petrochemicals and refined products, power, proppants, soft commodities, and weather derivatives. The company serves more than 450 institutional clients, including over 70 members of the Global Fortune 500, and transacts in hundreds of different commodity delivery points in Asia, Europe and the Americas. To learn more about the company, please visit www.otcgh.com or go to https://player.vimeo.com/video/146686709.