IAP.L Regulatory News (IAP)

2 May 2007 07:00

ICAP PLC02 May 2007 Press Release ICAP acquires J. E. Hyde ship broking business London, May 2, 2007 - ICAP plc (IAP.L) the world's premier voice and electronicinterdealer broker has acquired J.E.Hyde, the shipbroking business. J.E.Hyde's activities cover a range of shipbroking and related services to theshipping industry. The acquired business has gross assets of £1 million andemploys 54 staff. Its core business of dry cargo ship broking and the sale andpurchase of ships is complemented by shipping market research, yacht broking andshipping website design. The new company will be known as ICAP HYDE & CompanyLtd. Two years ago, ICAP plc and J.E.Hyde created a joint venture to enter therapidly growing freight derivatives business. Michael Spencer, Group Chief Executive of ICAP, commented "We are very pleasedto have acquired J.E.Hyde, which has a very strong position in the ship brokingmarket. The majority of ICAP customers involved in the commodity derivativesmarkets have a deepening interest in expanding their portfolio to include aphysical shipping market presence as well as freight derivatives. Thecommodities and freight sectors are major beneficiaries of China'stransformation and the shipping market has significant growth potential. Thisacquisition gives us the basis for further expansion in these markets. J.E.Hyde has an experienced management team and a well qualified staff and I amdelighted to welcome them to ICAP." Simon Harrison, J.E.Hyde's Managing Director, commented, "I am delighted aboutreaching terms with ICAP. This move will significantly enhance our position inthe market place and we look forward to utilising ICAP's client base and globalreach to expand ICAP HYDE's shipbroking services. The shipbroking sector haschanged dramatically over the past few years, and this alignment of ourcompanies will present further opportunities to our clients and our business inthe coming years." "We have been very happy with the success of the ICAP HYDE joint venture infreight derivatives - both Wet Tanker and Dry Cargo - and for both sides, it isa natural development now for us to integrate the main body of J.E.Hyde intothe ICAP group", said Paul Newman, Managing Director ICAP Energy, who has beenappointed non-executive chairman of ICAP HYDE & Company Ltd. About ICAP plc ICAP is the world's premier voice and electronic interdealer broker and thesource of global market information and commentary for professionals in theinternational financial markets. The Group is active in the wholesale markets ininterest rates, credit, energy, foreign exchange and equity derivatives. ICAPhas an average daily transaction volume in excess of $1.5 trillion, more than 50percent of which is electronic. ICAP plc was added to the FTSE 100 Index on 30June 2006. For more information go to www.icap.com About J. E. Hyde J.E. Hyde is one of London's oldest shipbrokers, with a distinguished historydating back to 1908. Over this time, and particularly in the last decade, thecompany has positioned itself amongst the top-tier of shipbroking companies.The highly-motivated and successful staff, offer a broad spectrum of shippingservices, including dry cargo chartering, sale and purchase, freightderivatives, research, yacht-broking and shipping web design. The companyoperates out of London, Copenhagen, Shanghai, Gibraltar, Singapore and Athens.Additional information can be found at www.jehyde.com Contacts: Mike Sheard Director of Corporate Affairs, ICAP plc +44 207 050 7103 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange