NEW YORK, Aug. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: BGCP), ("BGC Partners" or "BGC"), a leading global brokerage company primarily servicing the wholesale financial markets, today announced the launch of BGC Environmental Brokerage Services following the acquisition of Cantor Fitzgerald's North American environmental brokerage business CantorCO2e, L.P. Established in 1992, CantorCO2e is a leading environmental brokerage company that has brokered trades with a market value exceeding $10 billion.
Headquartered in New York, BGC Environmental Brokerage Services will focus on environmental commodities, offering brokerage, escrow and clearing, consulting, and advisory services to clients throughout the world in the industrial, financial and regulatory sectors. The business will be led by Samantha Unger Katz, Managing Director and Head of BGC Environmental Brokerage Services. Ms. Katz is a leading professional in the environmental brokerage marketplace and joins BGC from Evolution Markets where, as a partner and director of Western US Environmental Markets, she generated over $250 million in environmental products transactions.
"We are delighted to enter the environmental brokerage market, which broadens our portfolio of services to clients and represents an area of exceptional opportunity," said Shaun Lynn, President of BGC. "We welcome Samantha and her team with their wealth of industry knowledge, experience and connections. I am confident they will make a tremendous addition to our talented pool of brokers."