GAIN Capital Holdings, the retail FX brokerage group parent company of FOREX.com and City Index, had Mark Richards resign from the Board of Directors effective immediately with unclear motive.
According to the company, Richards said his decision to resign from the Board is not due to any disagreement with the company on any matter relating to the company’s operations, policies or practices.
Mark Richards was appointed to the GAIN Capital Board less than a year ago as the IPGL representative on the Board. Richards is the CEO of IPGL, the private holding company of Michael Spencer, founder and CEO of NEX Group.
IPGL owns about 5.5 million GCAP shares worth about $37 million and an IPGL affiliate holds substantially all of GAIN Capital’s Convertible Senior Notes, due 2020, of which $60 million in principal amount were issued in connection with the acquisition of City Index. IPGL’s two main assets are its 16% holding in NEX Group and its position in GAIN Capital. NEX is now in the process of being acquired by CME Group in a deal valued at £3.9 billion.
“His original appointment to GAIN Capital’s Board of Directors was apparently made pursuant to a ‘director appointment right’ granted to a company called INCAP Gaming B.V., an affiliate of IPGL, dating back to GAIN’s 2015 acquisition of City Index for $118 million. Michael Spencer was the controlling shareholder of City Index, via IPGL”, the statement said.
In June, FOREX.com and City Index have posted a combined 12 percent month-on-month decline in trading volumes coming in at $213.9 billion. The institutional trading platform, GTX, also posted a 22 percent decline in trading volumes coming in at $297.5 billion. GTX was then sold to Deutsche’s Boerse’s 360T for $100 million. GAIN Capital Holdings was expected to receive $85 million, net of taxes and transaction-related expenses and fees.
