Penson to Shed International Operations
December 21, 2011
Penson Worldwide said it will focus its business on U.S. operations, as it tries to sell its Canadian clearing business.
The provider of back office and custody services said it had retained Financial Technology Partners LP and FTP Securities LLC as its financial and strategic advisors for the potential sale of Penson Financial Services Canada.
The move is in response to "significant interest" shown by potential acquirers, Penson said.
In the past week, Penson said it also planned to shutter its clearing business in the United Kingdom. The company also recently sold off its Australian subsidiary.
Penson planned a series of “strategic initiatives” when its loss in the second quarter quadrupled from a year earlier.
PFSC is both the largest independent clearing firm in Canada and Penson’s largest international subsidiary.
At the end of September, PFSC had more than 100 ccustomers, including 28 correspondent broker dealers; book value of $54 million, 12-month trailing net revenues of $46 million and 179 employees, the company said.
"Penson has decided to focus the Company on its core US securities and futures businesses,” said Philip A. Pendergraft, Chief Executive Officer of parent Penson Worldwide. “These businesses have significant excess regulatory capital, with virtually all customer segregated funds held in U.S. bank accounts with FDIC insurance coverage.”
With offices in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, PFSC is a participating organization with the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Montreal Exchange, the CNSX Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange, is regulated by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, is a member of the CIPF, CDCC and CDS and subscribes to various Canadian Alternative Trading Systems.
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Penson has served the clearing needs of the global financial services industry since 1995.
Penson named a new president and said it planned to institute steps by year end that would reduce “internal costs” by $33 million, when it announced its second quarter loss.
