Privately-owned Sigma Broking Ltd has approached members of the London Metal Exchange to acquire B shares as it moves forward with a plan to become the first new Category I ring-trading entity since 2007, well-informed sources told Fastmarkets.
"There have been conversations between Sigma and LME members - it is well known who is long B shares and happy to sell them," one source close to the matter said. Companies wishing to trade as Category I or II members of the LME must hold a minimum of 25,000 LME Holdings Ltd B shares to conduct business. To trade on the LME's open-outcry ring, members must attain Category I membership. French investment bank Soci?(C)t?(C) G?(C)n?(C)rale tops the LME's B share count at 36,000, with fellow Category I ring-dealing member ED&F Man Ltd a close second at 35,000 B shares, according to LME data from November 8, 2018. With 30,000 B shares, Morgan Stanley, Macquarie Bank, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, BNP Paribas, Barclays Bank...