London, UK – March 9, 2006 – BGC, a leading inter-dealer brokerage firm providing integrated voice and electronic services to wholesale fixed income, interest rate, foreign exchange and derivatives markets worldwide, and eSpeed, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESPD), a leading developer of electronic marketplaces and trading technology for the global capital markets, today announced that another successful Texas Hold’ Em charity poker event was jointly hosted in an effort to give back to one of the many communities in which they do business.
BGC and eSpeed’s third global charity poker event, which took place from February 28 to March 2, 2006, is part of a series of worldwide charity events to take place in various cities throughout 2006. The London event attracted over 150 clients and follows successful events jointly hosted by BGC and eSpeed in New York in January and the inaugural event held in Chicago, IL last
October.
In keeping with BGC and eSpeed’s prize to the winner, a total of £10,000 was donated the chosen charity or charities by the winner on each night. The winner from Tuesday, Neil Kadagathur from Goldman Sachs, selected both Cancer Research UK and the British Tennis Foundation whom will each receive £5,000. Wednesday’s winner Benoit Chriqui from Barclays Capital selected children’s charity The NSPCC, and Thursday’s winner Jason Shi from Deutsche Bank selected CancerBACUP. All participants were given a bank of “charity chips” to begin each tournament.
Additional charity poker events are planned to take place throughout 2006 and further cities being considered by BGC and eSpeed, include Toronto, Sydney, Paris, Hong Kong and Singapore. The individuals with the highest chip counts from each city will be invited to participate in the overall championship, which will take place in Las Vegas, NV later this year.
Shaun Lynn, President of BGC, said, “Once again we have seen an immense amount of interest from our clients and wish to thank them all for taking part in our charity initiative s. We are proud to support each and every one of the selected charities as chosen by our winners.”
Paul Saltzman, Chief Operating Officer of eSpeed, Inc., commented, “Our charity initiatives continue to prosper and we look forward to helping additional charities in the communities in which we do business”.
Freddie Stotesbury at the BTF said, “Many thanks to Neil Kadagathur, BGC and eSpeed for their generous contribution to ‘BTF Give It Your Max.’ It’s great to see a fun event like this can also derive some good to charitable causes. This sizeable one off donation will make a difference.”
Tim Hunter, deputy director of fundraising said, “The NSPCC depends on public support for 84 per cent of its income. We are extremely grateful to Benoit Chriqui and BGC and eSpeed, Inc. for this fantastic contribution. This gift will make a big difference to our work with some of the UK’s most vulnerable children and young people.”
Joanne Rule, CancerBACUP Chief Executive added, “We are delighted to benefit from such a generous donation and are very grateful to BGC and eSpeed for organising such a fantastic event. This donation will help CancerBACUP to continue providing independent high quality information and support to anyone affected by cancer.”
Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. and its affiliates, which includes eSpeed, Inc., and BGC, held their Fourth Annual Charity Day on September 12, 2005, and raised over $6 million dollars, the proceeds of which were donated to those families who lost loved ones due to Hurricane Katrina, families of people lost on September 11, 2001, leukemia and cancer research, as well as a variety of other charities.
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About BGC
BGC is a leading inter-dealer broker, providing integrated voice and electronic services for wholesale market participants worldwide. BGC is active in the global fixed income, interest rate, foreign exchange and derivative markets, offering both telephone and screen-based price discovery, trade execution, straight-through processing and access to electronic trading services from eSpeed Inc. (Nasdaq: ESPD). The firm, named after fixed income trading innovator B. Gerald Cantor, has offices in London, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, Nyon and Milan. To learn more, please visit www.bgcpartners.com.
About eSpeed, Inc.
eSpeed, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESPD) is a leader in developing and deploying electronic marketplaces and related trading technology that offers traders access to the most liquid, efficient and neutral financial markets in the world. eSpeed operates multiple buyer, multiple seller real-time electronic marketplaces for the global capital markets, including the world’s largest government bond markets and other fixed income and equities marketplaces. eSpeed’s suite of marketplace tools provides end-to-end transaction solutions for the purchase and sale of financial and non-financial products over eSpeed’s global private network or via the Internet. eSpeed’s neutral platform, reliable network, straight-though processing and superior products make it the trusted source for electronic trading at the world’s largest fixed income and foreign exchange trading firms and major exchanges. To learn more, please visitwww.espeed.com.
The information in this press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements are based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Our actual results and the timing of certain events may differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, the costs and expenses of developing, maintaining and protecting our intellectual property, including judgments or settlements paid or received and their related costs, the possibility of future losses and negative cash flow from operations, the effect of market conditions, including trading volume and volatility, our pricing strategy and that of our competitors, our ability to develop new products and services, to enter new markets, to secure and maintain
market share, to enter into marketing and strategic alliances, to hire new personnel, to expand the use of our electronic system, to induce clients to use our marketplaces and services and to effectively manage any growth we achieve, the effects of the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and other factors that are discussed under “Risk Factors” in eSpeed’s Annual Report on Form 10 -K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We believe that all forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions when made; however, we caution that it is impossible to predict actual results or outcomes or the effects of risks, uncertainties or other factors on anticipated results or outcomes and that, accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date when made, and we undertake no obligation to update these statements in light of subsequent events or developments. Actual results and outcomes may differ materially from anticipated results or outcomes discussed in forward-looking statements.
About Cancer Research
Cancer Research UK’s vision is to conquer cancer through world-class research. The charity works alone and in partnership with others to carry out research into the biology and causes of cancer, to develop effective treatments, improve the quality of life for cancer patients, reduce the number of people getting cancer and to provide authoritative information on cancer. Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading independent charity dedicated to research on the causes, treatment and prevention of cancer. For further information about Cancer Research UK’s work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 020 7009 8820 or visitwww.cancerresearchuk.org
About The British Tennis Foundation
The ‘Give it your Max fund’ was set up in memory of Max Stotesbury with the help and support of the British Tennis Foundation and its fundraising arm the Dan Maskell Tennis Trust. ‘Give It Your Max’ aims to support children on the ‘Wimbledon Tennis Initiative’ and an annual award is presented to the individual who shows the most ent husiasm and dedication. It has been noticed that although these children may not have a particular talent for tennis, their general behaviour and enthusiasm for the game has been improved beyond all recognition. There is also a programme based at Max’s old school, Bradfield College for the children of Reading. The Dan Maskell Tennis Trust supports tennis for the disabled, giving all players, primarily deaf, wheelchair and those with a learning disability a chance to compete from beginner level through to GB representation in European and worldwide events.
About The NSPCC
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is the UK’s leading charity specialising in child protection and the prevention of cruelty to children. The NSPCC seeks to achieve cultural, social and political change – influencing legislation, policy, practice, attitudes and behaviors and delivering services for the benefit of children and young people.
About CancerBACUP
CancerBACUP is the only independent national charity that specialises in providing high quality information on all types of cancer. It is the largest specialist provider of cancer information in Europe. The charity offers independent information, practical advice and support to people affected by cancer via a free telephone help line staffed by specialist cancer nurses, an wardwinning interactive website, an extensive range of free publications and fact sheets and a network of local drop-in centres across the country.
Contacts:
Michael Geller – New York Adrian Thomas – London
212-610-2430 44-207-894-8647
mgeller@espeed.com athomas@bgcpartners.com