Howard Lutnick, Chairman and CEO of BGC Partners Inc., speaks at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange and FinTech Conference in New York City, the United States, on June 8, 2022.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges global financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald with Violate the law Relating to disclosures made by so-called blank check companies before raising money from the public.
Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerHoward Lutnick was recently nominated by President-elect Donald Trump Lead the Department of Commerce. Lutnick is the co-chairman of Trump’s transition team.
The SEC said Cantor agreed to settle the case, saying the company would not violate securities laws again and pay damages. $6.75 million civil penalty. The company does not admit or deny the allegations, which relate to certain anti-fraud and agency provisions of the federal securities laws.
It was unclear Thursday night whether the Trump transition review team was aware of the SEC investigation into Cantor, then-President Said he would nominate Lutnick Serves as Secretary of Commerce.
On October 27, 2024, at Madison Square Garden in New York, USA, Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman and CEO Howard Lutnick, the Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump made the gesture while speaking at a rally.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
one SEC Order The investigation released Thursday found that Cantor caused two blank-check companies, also known as SPACs, to falsely deny in regulatory filings that there had been contact or substantive discussions with potential merger targets ahead of the SPACs’ initial public offerings.
A SPAC is a shell company that has no underlying business before possibly merging with a target company that has operational operations.
Two SPACs controlled by Cantor executive team raise funds $750 million The SEC said it obtained the funds from IPO investors before merging with View Inc. and Satellogic.
The SEC said teams of Cantor executives and Cantor subsidiary employees scouted potential merger companies for the two SPACs and had “substantial discussions” with potential targets. These discussions take place before the blank-check company registers and begins its IPO.
“This enforcement action reflects the simple proposition that any disclosures about substantive discussions with potential targets must be materially accurate,” said. Sanjay WadhwaThursday, acting director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.
“Cantor Fitzgerald has repeatedly stated in public filings that while it has had substantive discussions with several private companies regarding potential mergers, including those partnering with its SPAC, it has not yet identified or is close to any potential merger targets, thereby misleading investors regarding key investment considerations for the eventual merger,” Wadhwa said in a statement.
“No investors were harmed by the issues described in this order,” Cantor spokesperson Erica Chase said in an email to CNBC.
“We are pleased to have reached agreement with the SEC to bring this matter to a close,” Chase said.
The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case.
