Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is an American

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

company based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It is listed on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

and is a part of the ''Fortune'' 1000.

Investments

The company's major holdings are as follows:

Financial Services

Jefferies Group Jefferies Group LLC is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company that is headquartered in New York City. The firm provides clients with capital markets and financial advisory services, institutional b ...

(100%) - investment banking & capital markets * Berkadia Commercial Mortgage (50/50 joint venture with

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally a textile manufacturer, the company transitioned into a conglomerate starting in 1965 under the management of c ...

) - commercial mortgage banking, investment sales and servicing *HomeFed (65% ownership) - Builder of Master Planned Communities, Income Properties, Land Holdings * FXCM (49.9%) - online foreign exchange trading *Foursight Capital (100%) - vehicle finance

Others

HRG Group HRG Group, Inc., formerly Harbinger Group Inc. and Zapata Corporation, was a holding company based in Rochester, New York, having originated from an oil company started by a group including future U.S. president George H. W. Bush. In 2009, ...

(23%) - insurance and consumer products * Vitesse Energy (96%) -

oil and gas exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth's crust using petroleum geology. Exploration methods ...

and development * Juneau Energy (98%) - oil and gas exploration and development * Garcadia Holdings (75%, Joint venture with

Ken Garff Automotive Group Kendall Day Garff (July 18, 1906 – March 14, 1997) was an American businessman who owned several automobile dealerships along the Wasatch Front in Utah. Biography Garff was born in Draper, Utah. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ ...

) - automobile dealerships * Linkem (57%) - fixed wireless broadband services * Golden Queen (35%) - a gold and silver mining project * Idaho Timber (100%) - manufacturing *

National Beef Packing Company National Beef Packing Company LLC is a beef processor headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, that produces fresh, chilled and further processed beef and beef by-products for customers worldwide. The company is owned by the Brazili ...

(79%) - food producer

History

*In 1970, Ian Cumming and Joseph S. Steinberg both graduated from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

and went to work for Carl Marks & Company, an

investment bank Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

. *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 Textron Inc. is an American industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Kautex, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft and Cessna b ...

. *In 1991, the company acquired insurer Colonial Penn from

Florida Power & Light Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), the principal subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc. (formerly FPL Group, Inc.), is the largest power utility in Florida. It is a Juno Beach, Florida-based power utility company serving roughly 5 million customer ...

for $150 million. *In 1997, the company sold the life insurance division of Colonial Penn to

Conseco CNO Financial Group, Inc. (formerly Conseco, Inc. (from Consolidated National Security Corporation)) is an American financial services holding company based in Carmel, Indiana. Its insurance subsidiaries provide life insurance, annuity and suppl ...

for $460 million and sold the auto insurance division of Colonial Penn to

GE Capital GE Capital was the financial services division of General Electric. Its various units were sold between 2013 and 2021, including the notable spin-off of the North American consumer finance division as Synchrony Financial. Ultimately, only one div ...

for $950 million. *In 1998, the company sold Charter National Life Insurance and Intramerica Life Insurance to

Allstate The Allstate Corporation is an American insurance company, headquartered in Glenview, Illinois (with a Northbrook, Illinois address) since 2022. Founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., it was spun off in 1993, but was still pa ...

. *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 Pershing Square Capital Management is an American hedge fund management company founded and run by Bill Ackman, headquartered in New York City. Company history In 2004, Ackman started Pershing Square Capital Management with $54 million in fundi ...

, a

hedge fund A hedge fund is a Pooling (resource management), pooled investment fund that holds Market liquidity, liquid assets and that makes use of complex trader (finance), trading and risk management techniques to aim to improve investment performance and ...

managed by

Bill Ackman William Albert Ackman (born May 11, 1966) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager who is the founder and chief executive officer of Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund management company. His investment approach has made him ...

. *In July 2004, the company sought, but failed, to buy a controlling stake in

MCI Communications MCI Communications Corporation (originally Microwave Communications, Inc.) was an American telecommunications company headquartered in Washington, D.C. that was at one point the second-largest long-distance provider in the United States. ...

. 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 Gaylord Hotels is the large convention hotel brand of Marriott International. As of 2024, it consists of five large hotels with a total of 9,918 rooms, along with attached convention centers and one overflow support hotel property, in addition to ...

for $35 million. *In 2009, the company entered into a 50/50

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with

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 Travel + Leisure Co. (formerly Wyndham Destinations, Inc., and Wyndham Worldwide Corporation) is an American timeshare company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. It develops, sells, and manages timeshare properties under several vacation owners ...

for $56 million in cash. *In 2011, the company acquired a 79% interest in

for $867.9 million. *In 2012, the company proposed building a $3 billion

syngas Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide in various ratios. The gas often contains some carbon dioxide and methane. It is principally used for producing ammonia or methanol. Syngas is combustible and can be used as ...

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

and Richard Handler became chief executive officer of the company. *During the same year,

KeyBank KeyBank is an American regional bank headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and the 27th largest bank in the United States. Organized under the publicly traded KeyCorp, KeyBank was formed from the 1994 merger of the Cleveland-based Society Corpora ...

made a sub-servicing agreement with Berkadia

Commercial Mortgage A commercial mortgage is a mortgage loan secured by commercial property, such as an office building, shopping center, industrial warehouse, or apartment complex. The proceeds from a commercial mortgage are typically used to acquire, refinance, or ...

on the CMBS primary servicing portfolio it is acquiring from

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

. It also acquired Berkadia’s $10 billion

special servicing Loan servicing is the process by which a company (mortgage bank, servicing firm, etc.) collects interest, principal, and escrow payments from a borrower. In the United States, the vast majority of mortgages are backed by the government or governm ...

portfolio. *In 2015, the company made an investment in FXCM after FXCM suffered losses due to the appreciation of the

Swiss Franc The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) iss ...

. *In 2016, the company restructured its investment in FXCM. *In May 2018, the company was renamed Jefferies Financial Group.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Publicly traded companies based in New York City Financial services companies of the United States Companies in the S&P 400