BGC PARTNERS, INC. (Exact Name of Registrant As Specified in Its Charter)
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Table of Contents As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 12, 2016 Registration No. 333- UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM S-3 REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 BGC PARTNERS, INC. (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter) Delaware 13-4063515 (State or Other Jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer Incorporation or Organization) Identification No.) 499 Park Avenue New York, New York 10022 (212) 610-2200 (Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices) Stephen M. Merkel Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary BGC Partners, Inc. 499 Park Avenue New York, New York 10022 (212) 610-2200 (212) 829-4708 fax (Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent for Service) Copies to: Christopher T. Jensen George G. Yearsich Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 101 Park Avenue New York, New York 10178 (212) 309-6000 (212) 309-6001 fax Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement, as determined by market conditions. If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. ¨ If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. x If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ¨ If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ¨ If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. x If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ¨ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934: Large accelerated filer x Accelerated filer ¨ Non-accelerated filer ¨ (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) Smaller reporting company ¨ CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE Proposed Proposed Amount Maximum Maximum Title of Each Class of to be Offering Price Aggregate Amount of Securities to be Registered Registered (1) Per Share (2) Offering Price (2) Registration Fee (3) Class A Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share 23,481,192 $8.93 $209,687,045 $21,115 (1) Represents the number of shares of BGC Partners, Inc.’s Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Class A common stock”), registered for resale by the Selling Stockholders. Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), BGC Partners, Inc. is also registering an indeterminate number of additional shares of Class A common stock issuable by reason of any stock dividend, stock split, recapitalization or other similar transaction. (2) Pursuant to Rule 457(c) under the Securities Act, and solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee, the proposed maximum offering price per share is $8.93, which is the average of the high and low prices of the Class A common stock on January 8, 2016 on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. (3) Calculated by multiplying the estimated aggregate offering price of the securities being registered by .0001007. Table of Contents BGC PARTNERS, INC. 23,481,192 Shares of Class A Common Stock In connection with the acquisition of the remaining minority interest in GFI Group Inc., which we refer to as “GFI,” on January 12, 2016 BGC Partners, Inc., which we refer to as “BGC Partners,” “BGC,” “we,” “us,” or “our,” issued to stockholders of Jersey Partners Inc., which we refer to as “JPI,” an aggregate of 23,481,192 shares of our Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share, which we refer to as our “Class A common stock,” in a private placement pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of December 22, 2015, by and among BGC, JPI Merger Sub 1, Inc., JPI Merger Sub 2, LLC, JPI, New JP Inc. and the individual signatories thereto, which we refer to as the “Back-End Merger Agreement.” We agreed in the Back-End Merger Agreement to register for resale the 23,481,192 that we issued to the stockholders of JPI, which we refer to as the “JPI Stockholders.” The shares issued upon the closing of the merger pursuant to the Back-End Merger Agreement are registered for resale in the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. These 23,481,192 shares of our Class A common stock may be offered and sold from time to time through this prospectus by the JPI Stockholders for their own account or by certain pledgees, donees, transferees, or other successors in interest of the shares, including banks or other financial institutions which may enter into stock pledge or other financing transactions with the JPI Stockholders, which we refer to collectively as the “Selling Stockholders.” Any such additional Selling Stockholders may be named by prospectus supplement. The Selling Stockholders may sell the shares of our Class A common stock included in this prospectus (other than through an underwritten offering) from time to time directly to purchasers, to dealers, or through agents, at fixed prices, which may be changed, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to the prevailing market prices, or at privately negotiated prices. Such sales may be made from time to time on a delayed or continuous basis. The Selling Stockholders will act independently of us in making decisions with respect to the timing, manner and size of each and any sale. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares of our Class A common stock by the Selling Stockholders. Certain of the Selling Stockholders have indemnification and other obligations to us in accordance with the Back-End Merger Agreement and other agreements with respect to the GFI acquisition and certain litigation related thereto. We have agreed to pay certain expenses in connection with the registration for resale of the shares by the Selling Stockholders through this prospectus. The Selling Stockholders will pay any fees and commissions, legal fees of any counsel engaged by any Selling Stockholder and transfer taxes applicable to the shares sold by them through this prospectus. Our Class A common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “BGCP.” On January 11, 2016, the last reported sales price of the Class A common stock was $8.90 per share. An investment in shares of our Class A common stock involves risks. See the “ Risk Factors ” section of our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we refer to as the “SEC,” and any updates to those risk factors or new risk factors contained in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC, all of which we incorporate by reference herein. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. The date of this prospectus is January 12, 2016. Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS About This Prospectus ii Forward-Looking Statements iii Certain Defined Terms vi Summary 1 Risk Factors 3 Use of Proceeds 4 Dividend Policy 5 Price Range of Class A Common Stock 8 Selling Stockholders 9 Description of Capital Stock 11 Material U.S. Federal Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders of Class A Common Stock 16 Plan of Distribution 19 Legal Matters 21 Experts 22 Where You Can Find More Information 23 Documents Incorporated by Reference 23 You should rely only on the information provided in this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, as well as the information incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. We are not making an offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any documents incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the applicable document. Since the respective dates of this prospectus, any prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and prospects might have changed. Table of Contents ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC using a shelf registration process.