Jefferies Financial Group
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is an American financial services company based in New York City. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is a part of the Fortune 1000.
Investments
The company's major holdings are as follows:Financial Services
- Jefferies Group - investment banking & capital markets
- Berkadia Commercial Mortgage - commercial mortgage banking, investment sales and servicing
- HomeFed - Builder of Master Planned Communities, Income Properties, Land Holdings
- FXCM - online foreign exchange trading
- Foursight Capital - vehicle finance
Others
- HRG Group - insurance and consumer products
- Vitesse Energy - oil and gas exploration and development
- Juneau Energy - oil and gas exploration and development
- Garcadia Holdings - automobile dealerships
- Linkem - fixed wireless broadband services
- Golden Queen - a gold and silver mining project
- Idaho Timber - manufacturing
- National Beef Packing Company - food producer
History
- In 1970, Ian Cumming and Joseph S. Steinberg both graduated from Harvard Business School and went to work for Carl Marks & Company, an investment bank.
- In 1979, they gained control of Talcott National Corporation, sold the James Talcott Factors division, and, in 1980, they renamed the company Leucadia.
- In 1984, the company made a $61 million profit on its $77 million investment in Avco Corporation by forcing the sale of the company to Textron.
- In 1991, the company acquired insurer Colonial Penn from Florida Power & Light for $150 million.
- In 1997, the company sold the life insurance division of Colonial Penn to Conseco for $460 million and sold the auto insurance division of Colonial Penn to GE Capital for $950 million.
- In 1998, the company sold Charter National Life Insurance and Intramerica Life Insurance to Allstate.
- In 2002, the company received a 44% stake in WilTel Communications Group as a result of a bankruptcy reorganization.
- In May 2003, the company made an offer to acquire the remaining shares of WilTel Communications Group that it did not already own.
- In August 2003, after increasing its offer, the company acquired the remaining shares of WilTel Communications Group.
- In September 2003, the company acquired RehabWorks.
- In January 2004, the company financed Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund managed by Bill Ackman.
- In July 2004, the company sought, but failed, to buy a controlling stake in MCI Communications. In September 2004, the company sold its stake in MCI for a $20 million profit.
- In 2005, the company sold WilTel Communications Group to Level 3 Communications for a $180 million profit.
- In 2007, the company acquired ResortQuest International from Gaylord Hotels for $35 million.
- In 2009, the company entered into a 50/50 joint venture with Berkshire Hathaway called Berkadia, which acquired the North American loan origination and servicing business of Capmark Financial Group.
- In 2010, the company sold ResortQuest International to Wyndham Worldwide for $56 million in cash.
- In 2011, the company acquired a 79% interest in National Beef Packing Company for $867.9 million.
- In 2012, the company proposed building a $3 billion syngas facility in south Chicago to convert coal and petroleum waste into natural gas; however, the plant never received legislative approval.
- In 2013, the company merged with Jefferies Group and Richard Handler became chief executive officer of the company.
- During the same year, KeyBank made a sub-servicing agreement with Berkadia Commercial Mortgage on the CMBS primary servicing portfolio it is acquiring from Bank of America. It also acquired Berkadia’s $10 billion special servicing portfolio.
- In 2015, the company made an investment in FXCM after FXCM suffered losses due to the appreciation of the Swiss Franc.
- In 2016, the company restructured its investment in FXCM.
- In May 2018, the company was renamed Jefferies Financial Group.