(Reuters) -Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald said on Monday that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick agreed to transfer his stake in the firm to his children and a group of investors, and divested assets in two subsidiaries, complying with his U.S. government ethics agreement.
Lutnick, who led the U.S. financial services empire for over three decades, will hand over his ownership to trusts for his adult children, controlled by his son Brandon Lutnick, the group’s chief executive officer and chairman.
U.S. government officials with Wall Street ties, which also include U.S. President Donald Trump, must divest or place in a trust any holdings that could compromise their objectivity or independence.
As part of the deal, an investor group including Apollo co-founder Josh Harris’s alternative asset management firm 26North and Oak Hill Advisors founder Glenn August, will also become minority owners.
Lutnick, sworn in as Commerce Secretary on February 24, also sold his Class A shares in brokerage BGC Group for $151.5 million and commercial real estate firm Newmark Group for $127 million to the respective companies.
Cantor Fitzgerald said it will be buying the Commerce Secretary’s Class B BGC shares, maintaining majority ownership in BGC and Newmark.
The Wall Street giant added that Lutnick has agreed to forgo all economic benefits in Cantor Fitzgerald, BGC and Newmark as of May 16.
(Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
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