BGC Partners, part of US inter-dealer broker Cantor Fitzgerald, is poised to buy Aurel Leven, one of the few remaining independent French brokers whose shareholders include Louis Dreyfus, HSBC and the Leven family.

The deal, terms of which have not been disclosed, is the second French purchase made by BGC in less than a year. Last October, it bought brokerage ETC Pollack for between €15m ($19m) and €18m. BGC hopes the latest acquisition will strengthen its French business to rival those run by the BNP Paribas-controlled Exane and Crédit Agricole's Chevreux. Management and staff at the 100-strong brokerage will join BGC on completion of the deal, working under chief executive Jerome Frank, who will report to Jean Pierre Aubin, head of BGC's continental operations. The deal, expected to close next month, is understood to have approval from French regulators. It will bring BGC's staff numbers to 1,600, making it the second-largest inter-dealer brokerage behind Icap and Tullett Prebon. Separately, BGC is about to launch its initial public offering, perhaps as early as this week, according to sources close to the broker cited in The Wall Street Journal. The partial flotation will further distance BGC from its parent and may pave the way for a merger with eSpeed, Cantor Fitzgerald's electronic trading platform for bonds, futures and foreign exchange, according to analysts. The value of the flotation is not known. Citigroup is advising BGC and Lazard was considering alternatives to a flotation, BGC said in September.