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 (23%) - insurance and consumer products * Vitesse Energy (96%) - oil and gas exploration and development * Juneau Energy (98%) - oil and gas exploration and development * Garcadia Holdings (75%, Joint venture with Ken Garff Automotive Group) - 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 (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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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