Fitch affirms Cantor Fitzgerald, BGC

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed Cantor Fitzgerald LP's and BGC Partners Inc.'s long-term issuer default ratings at BBB- and short-term issuer default ratings at F3.

The agency removed the ratings from rating watch negative and assigned stable outlooks to both issuers.

Fitch said the removal of the ratings from rating watch negative and the assignment of stable outlooks reflect successful execution on a series of capital-raising and deleveraging actions undertaken by Cantor and BGC in the fourth quarter of 2017 through the first quarter of 2018, which allowed the companies to normalize their leverage ratios toward respective historical averages.

The agency previously placed the ratings of Cantor and BGC on rating watch negative on Dec. 19, 2017, reflecting the potential for delayed deleveraging at Cantor and BGC following the downsized IPO by BGC's real estate brokerage and finance subsidiary Newmark Group, Inc. (operating under the Newmark Knight Frank brand).

IPO proceeds were previously expected to replenish the consolidated capital at Cantor and facilitate the partial repayment of $975 million in loans BGC undertook in September 2017 to acquire Berkeley Point from Cantor, Fitch explained.

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