Related Party Transactions

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Related Party Transactions [Abstract]

Related Party Transactions

14. Related Party Transactions

Service Agreements

Throughout Europe and Asia, the Company provides Cantor with administrative services, technology services and other support for which it charges Cantor based on the cost of providing such services plus a mark-up, generally 7.5%. In the U.K., the Company provides these services to Cantor through Tower Bridge. The Company owns 52% of Tower Bridge and consolidates it, and Cantor owns 48%. Cantor’s interest in Tower Bridge is reflected as a component of “Noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition, and the portion of Tower Bridge’s income attributable to Cantor is included as part of “Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. In the U.S., the Company provides Cantor with technology services for which it charges Cantor based on the cost of providing such services.

The administrative services agreement provides that direct costs incurred are charged back to the service recipient. Additionally, the service recipient generally indemnifies the service provider for liabilities that it incurs arising from the provision of services other than liabilities arising from fraud or willful misconduct of the service provider. In accordance with the administrative service agreement, the Company has not recognized any liabilities related to services provided to affiliates.

For the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, Cantor’s share of the net profit in Tower Bridge was $0.4 million and $0.6 million, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, Cantor’s share of the net profit in Tower Bridge was $0.2 million and $0.3 million, respectively. This net profit is included as part of “Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest in subsidiaries” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.

On September 21, 2018, the Company entered into agreements to provide a guarantee and related obligation to Tower Bridge in connection with an office lease for the Company’s headquarters in London. The Company is obligated to guarantee the obligations of Tower Bridge in the event of certain defaults under the applicable lease and ancillary arrangements. In July 2018, the Audit Committee also authorized management of the Company to enter into similar guarantees or provide other forms of credit support to Tower Bridge or other affiliates of the Company from time to time in the future in similar circumstances and on similar terms and conditions.

For the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company recognized related party revenues of $6.6 million and $7.2 million, respectively, for the services provided to Cantor. For the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company recognized related party revenues of $12.1 million and $13.0 million, respectively, for the services provided to Cantor. These revenues are included as part of “Fees from related parties” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.

In the U.S., Cantor and its affiliates provide the Company with administrative services and other support for which Cantor charges the Company based on the cost of providing such services. In connection with the services Cantor provides, the Company and Cantor entered into an employee lease agreement whereby certain employees of Cantor are deemed leased employees of the Company. For the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company was charged $15.2 million and $14.9 million, respectively, for the services provided by Cantor and its affiliates, of which $10.1 million and $8.4 million, respectively, were to cover compensation to leased employees for these periods. For the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company was charged $31.1 million and $27.8 million, respectively, for the services provided by Cantor and its affiliates, of which $20.6 million and $18.4 million, respectively, were to cover compensation to leased employees for these periods. The fees charged by Cantor for administrative and support services, other than those to cover the compensation costs of leased employees, are included as part of “Fees to related parties” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. The fees charged by Cantor to cover the compensation costs of leased employees are included as part of “Compensation and employee benefits” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Newmark Separation, IPO and Spin-Off

The Separation and Distribution Agreement sets forth the agreements among BGC, Cantor, Newmark and their respective subsidiaries. For additional information, see Note 1—“Organization and Basis of Presentation” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

As a result of the Separation, the limited partnership interests in Newmark Holdings were distributed to the holders of limited partnership interests in BGC Holdings, including Cantor, whereby each holder of BGC Holdings limited partnership interests at that time held a BGC Holdings limited partnership interest and a corresponding Newmark Holdings limited partnership interest, which is equal to a BGC Holdings limited partnership interest multiplied by the Contribution Ratio, divided by the Exchange Ratio. For additional information, see Note 2—“Limited Partnership Interests in BGC Holdings and Newmark Holdings.”

In addition, CF&Co, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cantor, was an underwriter of the Newmark IPO. Pursuant to the underwriting agreement, Newmark paid CF&Co 5.5% of the gross proceeds from the sale of shares of Newmark Class A common stock sold by Cantor in connection with the Newmark IPO.

On November 30, 2018, the Company completed the Spin-Off. BGC Partners’ stockholders, including Cantor and CFGM, as of the Record Date received in the Spin-Off 0.463895 of a share of Newmark Class A common stock for each share of BGC Class A common stock held as of the Record Date, and 0.463895 of a share of Newmark Class B common stock for each share of BGC Class B common stock held as of the Record Date. In the aggregate, BGC distributed 131.9 million shares of Newmark Class A common stock and 21.3 million shares of Newmark Class B common to BGC’s stockholders in the Spin-Off. As Cantor and CFGM held 100% of the shares of BGC Class B common stock as of the Record Date, Cantor and CFGM were distributed 100% of the shares of Newmark Class B common stock in the Spin-Off.

Prior to and in connection with the Spin-Off, 15.1 million Newmark Holdings interests held by BGC were exchanged into 9.4 million shares of Newmark Class A common stock and 5.4 million shares of Newmark Class B common stock, and 7.0 million Newmark OpCo interests, held by BGC were exchanged into 6.9 million shares of Newmark Class A common stock. These shares of Newmark Class A and Newmark Class B common stock were distributed to the BGC stockholders in the Spin-Off. On November 30, 2018, BGC Partners also caused its subsidiary, BGC Holdings, to distribute in the BGC Holdings Distribution pro rata all of the 1.5 million exchangeable interests of Newmark Holdings held by BGC Holdings immediately prior to the effective time of the BGC Holdings Distribution Date to its limited partners entitled to receive distributions on their BGC Holdings units who were holders of record of such units as of the Record Date (including Cantor and executive officers of BGC). The Newmark Holdings interests distributed to BGC Holdings partners in the BGC Holdings Distribution are exchangeable for shares of Newmark Class A common stock, and, in the case of the 0.4 million Newmark Holdings interests received by Cantor, also into shares of Newmark Class B common stock, at the current Exchange Ratio. As of June 30, 2020, the Exchange Ratio equaled 0.9366 shares of Newmark common stock per Newmark Holdings interest (subject to adjustment).

Following the Spin-Off and the BGC Holdings Distribution, BGC Partners ceased to be a controlling stockholder of Newmark, and BGC and its subsidiaries no longer held any shares of Newmark common stock or equity interests in Newmark or its subsidiaries. Cantor continues to control Newmark and its subsidiaries following the Spin-Off and the BGC Holdings Distribution. See Note 1—“Organization and Basis of Presentation” for additional information.

Subsequent to the Spin-Off, there are remaining partners who hold limited partnership interests in BGC Holdings who are Newmark employees, and there are remaining partners who hold limited partnership interests in Newmark Holdings who are BGC employees. These limited partnership interests represent interests that were held prior to the Newmark IPO or were distributed in connection with the Separation. Following the Newmark IPO, employees of BGC and Newmark only receive limited partnership interests in BGC Holdings and Newmark Holdings, respectively. As a result of the Spin-Off, as the existing limited partnership interests in BGC Holdings held by Newmark employees and the existing limited partnership interests in Newmark Holdings held by BGC employees are exchanged/redeemed, the related capital can be contributed to and from Cantor, respectively.

Clearing Agreement with Cantor

The Company receives certain clearing services from Cantor pursuant to its clearing agreement. These clearing services are provided in exchange for payment by the Company of third-party clearing costs and allocated costs. The costs associated with these payments are included as part of “Fees to related parties” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. The costs for these services are included as part of the charges to BGC for services provided by Cantor and its affiliates as discussed in “Service Agreements” above.

Other Agreements with Cantor

The Company is authorized to enter into short-term arrangements with Cantor to cover any delivery failures in connection with U.S. Treasury securities transactions and to share equally in any net income resulting from such transactions, as well as any similar clearing and settlement issues.  As of June 30, 2020, and December 31, 2019, Cantor did not facilitate any Repurchase Agreements between the Company and Cantor.

To more effectively manage the Company’s exposure to changes in FX rates, the Company and Cantor have agreed to jointly manage the exposure. As a result, the Company is authorized to divide the quarterly allocation of any profit or loss relating to FX currency hedging between the Company and Cantor. The amount allocated to each party is based on the total net exposure for the Company and Cantor. The ratio of gross exposures of the Company and Cantor is utilized to determine the shares of profit or loss allocated to each for the period. During the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company recognized its share of FX losses of $0.8 million and gains of $0.7 million, respectively. During the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company recognized its share of FX losses of $0.2 million and gains of $0.9 million, respectively. These gains and losses are included as part of “Other expenses” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Pursuant to the separation agreement relating to the Company’s acquisition of certain BGC businesses from Cantor in 2008, Cantor has a right, subject to certain conditions, to be the Company’s customer and to pay the lowest commissions paid by any other customer, whether by volume, dollar or other applicable measure. In addition, Cantor has an unlimited right to internally use market data from the Company without any cost. Any future related-party transactions or arrangements between the Company and Cantor are subject to the prior approval by the Audit Committee. During the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company recorded revenues from Cantor entities of $9 thousand and $69 thousand, respectively, related to commissions paid to the Company by Cantor. During the six months ended June 30, 2020

and 2019, the Company recorded revenues from Cantor entities of $84 thousand and $147 thousand, respectively, related to commissions paid to the Company by Cantor. These revenues are included as part of “Commissions” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.

The Company and Cantor are authorized to utilize each other’s brokers to provide brokerage services for securities not brokered by such entity, so long as, unless otherwise agreed, such brokerage services were provided in the ordinary course and on terms no less favorable to the receiving party than such services are provided to typical third-party customers.

In August 2013, the Audit Committee authorized the Company to invest up to $350.0 million in an asset-backed commercial paper program for which certain Cantor entities serve as placement agent and referral agent. The program issues short-term notes to money market investors and is expected to be used by the Company from time to time as a liquidity management vehicle. The notes are backed by assets of highly rated banks. The Company is entitled to invest in the program so long as the program meets investment policy guidelines, including policies related to ratings. Cantor will earn a spread between the rate it receives from the short-term note issuer and the rate it pays to the Company on any investments in this program. This spread will be no greater than the spread earned by Cantor for placement of any other commercial paper note in the program. As of both June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company did not have any investments in the program.

On June 5, 2015, the Company entered into the Exchange Agreement with Cantor providing Cantor, CFGM and other Cantor affiliates entitled to hold BGC Class B common stock the right to exchange from time to time, on a one-to-one basis, subject to adjustment, up to an aggregate of 34,649,693 shares of BGC Class A common stock now owned or subsequently acquired by such Cantor entities for up to an aggregate of 34,649,693 shares of BGC Class B common stock. Such shares of BGC Class B common stock, which currently can be acquired upon the exchange of Cantor units owned in BGC Holdings, are already included in the Company’s fully diluted share count and will not increase Cantor’s current maximum potential voting power in the common equity. The Exchange Agreement enabled the Cantor entities to acquire the same number of shares of BGC Class B common stock that they were already entitled to acquire without having to exchange its Cantor units in BGC Holdings. The Audit Committee and Board determined that it was in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders to approve the Exchange Agreement because it will help ensure that Cantor retains its units in BGC Holdings, which is the same partnership in which the Company’s partner employees participate, thus continuing to align the interests of Cantor with those of the partner employees.

On November 23, 2018, in the Class B Issuance, BGC Partners issued 10,323,366 shares of BGC Partners Class B common stock to Cantor and 712,907 shares of BGC Partners Class B common stock to CFGM, in each case in exchange for shares of BGC Class A common stock owned by Cantor and CFGM, respectively, on a one-to-one basis pursuant to the Exchange Agreement. Pursuant to the Exchange Agreement, no additional consideration was paid to BGC Partners by Cantor or CFGM for the Class B Issuance. Following this exchange, Cantor and its affiliates have the right to exchange under the Exchange Agreement up to an aggregate of 23,613,420 shares of BGC Class A common stock, now owned or subsequently acquired, or its Cantor units in BGC Holdings, into shares of BGC Class B common stock. As of June 30, 2020, Cantor and CFGM do not own any shares of BGC Class A common stock.

The Company and Cantor have agreed that any shares of BGC Class B common stock issued in connection with the Exchange Agreement would be deducted from the aggregate number of shares of BGC Class B common stock that may be issued to the Cantor entities upon exchange of Cantor units in BGC Holdings. Accordingly, the Cantor entities will not be entitled to receive any more shares of BGC Class B common stock under this agreement than they were previously eligible to receive upon exchange of exchangeable limited partnership units.

On March 19, 2018, the Company entered into the BGC Credit Agreement with Cantor. The BGC Credit Agreement provides for each party and certain of its subsidiaries to issue loans to the other party or any of its subsidiaries in the lender’s discretion in an aggregate principal amount up to $250.0 million outstanding at any time. The BGC Credit Agreement replaced the previous Credit Facility between BGC and an affiliate of Cantor. On August 6, 2018, the Company entered into an amendment to the BGC Credit Agreement, which increased the aggregate principal amount that could be loaned to the other party or any of its subsidiaries from $250.0 million to $400.0 million that can be outstanding at any time. The BGC Credit Agreement will mature on the earlier to occur of (a) March 19, 2021, after which the maturity date of the BGC Credit Agreement will continue to be extended for successive one-year periods unless prior written notice of non-extension is given by a lending party to a borrowing party at least six months in advance of such renewal date and (b) the termination of the BGC Credit Agreement by either party pursuant to its terms. The outstanding amounts under the BGC Credit Agreement will bear interest for any rate period at a per annum rate equal to the higher of BGC’s or Cantor’s short-term borrowing rate in effect at such time plus 1.00%. As of both June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, there were no borrowings by BGC or Cantor outstanding under this agreement. The Company recorded interest expense of $0.4 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020. The Company did not record any interest income or interest expense related to the agreement for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019.

As part of the Company’s cash management process, the Company may enter into tri-party reverse repurchase agreements and other short-term investments, some of which may be with Cantor. As of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company had no reverse repurchase agreements.

Receivables from and Payables to Related Broker-Dealers

Amounts due to or from Cantor and Freedom, one of the Company’s equity method investments, are for transactional revenues under a technology and services agreement with Freedom, as well as for open derivative contracts. These are included as part of “Receivables from broker-dealers, clearing organizations, customers and related broker-dealers” or “Payables to broker-dealers, clearing organizations,

customers and related broker-dealers” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition. As of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company had receivables from Freedom of $1.9 million and $1.3 million, respectively. As of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company had $0.6 million and $1.3 million, respectively, in receivables from Cantor related to open derivative contracts. As of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company had $0.2 million and $2.0 million, respectively, in payables to Cantor related to open derivative contracts. As of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company had $2.0 million and $2.3 million, respectively, in payables to Cantor related to fails and pending trades.

Loans, Forgivable Loans and Other Receivables from Employees and Partners, Net

The Company has entered into various agreements with certain employees and partners whereby these individuals receive loans which may be either wholly or in part repaid from the distributions that the individuals receive on some or all of their LPUs and from proceeds of the sale of the employees' shares of BGC Class A common stock, or may be forgiven over a period of time. The forgivable portion of these loans is recognized as compensation expense over the life of the loan. From time to time, the Company may also enter into agreements with employees and partners to grant bonus and salary advances or other types of loans. These advances and loans are repayable in the timeframes outlined in the underlying agreements.

As of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the aggregate balance of employee loans, net, was $370.8 million and $315.6 million, respectively, and is included as “Loans, forgivable loans and other receivables from employees and partners, net” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition. Compensation expense for the above-mentioned employee loans for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 was $17.1 million and $7.4 million, respectively. Compensation expense for the above-mentioned employee loans for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 was $31.6 million and $14.0 million, respectively. The compensation expense related to these employee loans is included as part of “Compensation and employee benefits” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Interest income on the above-mentioned employee loans for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 was $1.2 million and $1.0 million, respectively. Interest income on the above-mentioned employee loans for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 was $2.4 million and $2.0 million, respectively. The interest income related to these employee loans is included as part of “Interest and dividend income” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.

CEO Program and Other Transactions with CF&Co

As discussed in Note 7—“Stock Transactions and Unit Redemptions,” the Company has entered into the March 2018 Sales Agreement with CF&Co, as the Company’s sales agent under the CEO Program. During the three months ended June 30, 2020, the Company did not sell any shares of Class A common stock under the March 2018 Sales Agreement. During the six months ended June 30, 2020, the Company sold 0.2 million shares under the March 2018 Sales Agreement for aggregate proceeds of $0.7 million, at a weighted-average price of $4.04 per share. During the three months ended June 30, 2019, the Company did not sell any shares under the March 2018 Sales Agreement. During the six months ended June 30, 2019, the Company sold 0.9 million shares under its CEO Sales Agreements with CF&Co for aggregate proceeds of $5.3 million, at a weighted-average price of $6.17 per share. For the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company was not charged for services provided by CF&Co related to the Company’s CEO Sales Agreements with CF&Co. For the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company was charged $7 thousand and $0.1 million, respectively, for services provided by CF&Co related to the Company’s CEO Sales Agreements with CF&Co. The net proceeds of the shares sold are included as part of “Additional paid-in capital” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition.

The Company has engaged CF&Co and its affiliates to act as financial advisors in connection with one or more third-party business combination transactions as requested by the Company on behalf of its affiliates from time to time on specified terms, conditions and fees. The Company may pay finders’, investment banking or financial advisory fees to broker-dealers, including, but not limited to, CF&Co and its affiliates, from time to time in connection with certain business combination transactions, and, in some cases, the Company may issue shares of BGC Class A common stock in full or partial payment of such fees.

On October 3, 2014, management was granted approval by Board and Audit Committee to enter into stock loan transactions with CF&Co utilizing equities securities. Such stock loan transactions will bear market terms and rates. As of June 30, 2020, the Company did not have any Securities loaned transactions  with CF&Co. As of December 31, 2019, the Company had Securities loaned transactions of $13.9 million with CF&Co. The fair value of the securities loaned was $13.9 million (see Note 9—“Collateralized Transactions”). As of December 31, 2019, the cash collateral received from CF&Co bore an annual interest rate of 2.45%. These transactions have no stated maturity date. Securities loaned transactions are included in “Securities loaned” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition.

On May 27, 2016, the Company issued an aggregate of $300.0 million principal amount of 5.125% Senior Notes. In connection with this issuance of the 5.125% Senior Notes, the Company recorded $0.5 million in underwriting fees payable to CF&Co and $18 thousand to CastleOak Securities, L.P. These fees were recorded as a deduction from the carrying amount of the debt liability, which is amortized as interest expense over the term of the notes. Cantor purchased $15.0 million of such senior notes and still held such notes as of June 30, 2020.

On September 27, 2019, the Company issued an aggregate of $300.0 million principal amount of 3.750% Senior Notes. In connection with this issuance of the 3.750% Senior Notes, the Company recorded $0.2 million in underwriting fees payable to CF&Co and $36 thousand to CastleOak Securities, L.P. These fees were recorded as a deduction from the carrying amount of the debt liability, which is amortized as interest expense over the term of the notes.

On June 11, 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors and its Audit Committee authorized a debt repurchase program for the repurchase by the Company of up to $50.0 million of Company Debt Securities. Repurchases of Company Debt Securities, if any, are expected to reduce future cash interest payments, as well as future amounts due at maturity or upon redemption. Under the authorization, the Company may make repurchases of Company Debt Securities for cash from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions upon such terms and at such prices as management may determine. Additionally, the Company is authorized to make any such repurchases of Company Debt Securities through CF&Co (or its affiliates), in its capacity as agent or principal, or such other broker-dealers as management shall determine to utilize from time to time, and such repurchases shall be subject to brokerage commissions which are no higher than standard market commission rates. As of June 30, 2020, the Company had $50.0 million remaining from its debt repurchase authorization.

Under rules adopted by the CFTC, all foreign introducing brokers engaging in transactions with U.S. persons are required to register with the NFA and either meet financial reporting and net capital requirements on an individual basis or obtain a guarantee agreement from a registered FCM. From time to time, the Company’s foreign-based brokers engage in interest rate swap transactions with U.S.-based counterparties, and, therefore, the Company is subject to the CFTC requirements. Mint Brokers has entered into guarantees on behalf of the Company, and the Company is required to indemnify Mint Brokers for the amounts, if any, paid by Mint Brokers on behalf of the Company pursuant to this arrangement. Effective April 1, 2020, these guarantees were transferred to Mint Brokers from CF&Co. During the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company recorded fees of $31 thousand with respect to these guarantees. During the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company recorded fees of $63 thousand with respect to these guarantees. These fees were included in “Fees to related parties” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Cantor Rights to Purchase Cantor Units from BGC Holdings

Cantor has the right to purchase Cantor units from BGC Holdings upon redemption of non-exchangeable FPUs redeemed by BGC Holdings upon termination or bankruptcy of the Founding/Working Partner. In addition, pursuant to Article Eight, Section 8.08, of the Second Amended and Restated BGC Holdings Limited Partnership Agreement (previously the Sixth Amendment), where either current, terminating, or terminated partners are permitted by the Company to exchange any portion of their FPUs and Cantor consents to such exchangeability, the Company shall offer to Cantor the opportunity for Cantor to purchase the same number of Cantor units in BGC Holdings at the price that Cantor would have paid for the FPUs had the Company redeemed them. Any such Cantor units purchased by Cantor are currently exchangeable for up to 23,613,420 shares of BGC Class B common stock or, at Cantor’s election or if there are no such additional shares of BGC Class B common stock, shares of BGC Class A common stock, in each case on a one-for-one basis (subject to customary anti-dilution adjustments).

As of June 30, 2020, there were 2,129,969 FPUs in BGC Holdings remaining, which BGC Holdings had the right to redeem or exchange and with respect to which Cantor had the right to purchase an equivalent number of Cantor units.

Transactions with Executive Officers and Directors

On March 2, 2020, the Company granted Stephen M. Merkel 360,065 exchange rights with respect to 360,065 non-exchangeable LPUs that were previously granted to Mr. Merkel. The resulting 360,065 exchangeable LPUs were immediately exchangeable by Mr. Merkel for an aggregate of 360,065 shares of BGC Class A common stock. The grant was approved by the Compensation Committee. On March 20, 2020, the Company redeemed 185,300 of such 360,065 exchangeable LPUs held by Mr. Merkel at the average price of shares of BGC Class A common stock sold under BGC’s CEO Program from March 10, 2020 to March 13, 2020 less 1% (approximately $4.0024 per LPU, for an aggregate redemption price of approximately $741,644). The transaction was approved by the Compensation Committee. Additionally, the Compensation Committee approved the right to exchange for cash 265,568 non-exchangeable PLPUs held by Mr. Merkel, for a payment of $1,507,285 for taxes when the LPU units are exchanged. In connection with the redemption of the 185,300 LPUs, 122,579 PLPUs were redeemed for $661,303 for taxes.

On March 27, 2019, the Audit and Compensation Committees authorized the purchase by the Company from Mr. Merkel of up to 250,000 shares of BGC Class A common stock at the closing price on March 26, 2019. Pursuant to this authorization, 233,172 shares of BGC Class A common stock were purchased by the Company on March 27, 2019 at $5.30 per share, the closing price on March 26, 2019.

On February 27, 2019, the Audit Committee authorized the purchase by Mr. Lutnick’s retirement plan of up to $56,038 of BGC Class A common stock at the closing price on March 4, 2019. Pursuant to this authorization, 8,980 shares of BGC Class A common stock were purchased by the plan on March 5, 2019 at $6.24 per share, the closing price on March 4, 2019.

Transactions with the Relief Fund

During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company committed to make charitable contributions to the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund in the amount of $40.0 million, which the Company recorded in “Other expenses” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2015. As of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the remaining liability associated with this commitment was $4.5 million and $4.0 million, respectively, which is included in “Accounts payable, accrued and other liabilities” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition.

Other Transactions

The Company is authorized to enter into loans, investments or other credit support arrangements for Aqua, an alternative electronic trading platform that offers new pools of block liquidity to the global equities markets; such arrangements are proportionally and on the same terms as similar arrangements between Aqua and Cantor. On February 5, 2020, the Board and Audit Committee increased the authorized amount by an additional $2.0 million, to $19.2 million. The Company has been further authorized to provide counterparty or similar guarantees on behalf of Aqua from time to time, provided that liability for any such guarantees, as well as similar guarantees provided by Cantor, would be shared proportionally with Cantor. Aqua is 51% owned by Cantor and 49% owned by the Company. Aqua is accounted for under the equity method. During both the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company made $0.4 million, in contributions to Aqua. During the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, the Company made $0.6 million and $0.7 million, respectively, in contributions to Aqua. These contributions are recorded as part of “Investments” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition.

The Company has also entered into a subordinated loan agreement with Aqua, whereby the Company loaned Aqua the principal sum of $980.0 thousand. The scheduled maturity date on the subordinated loan is September 1, 2021, and the current rate of interest on the loan is three month LIBOR plus 600 basis points. The loan to Aqua is recorded as part of “Receivables from related parties” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of financial condition.

On October 25, 2016, the Board and Audit Committee authorized the purchase of 9,000 Class B Units of Lucera, representing all of the issued and outstanding Class B Units of Lucera not already owned by the Company. On November 4, 2016, the Company completed this transaction. As a result of this transaction, the Company owns 100% of the ownership interests in Lucera.

In the purchase agreement, by which the Company acquired Cantor’s remaining interest in Lucera, Cantor agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to solicit certain senior executives of Lucera’s business and was granted the right to be a customer of Lucera’s businesses on the best terms made available to any other customer.

During each of the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, Lucera had $0.2 million in related party revenues from Cantor. During each of the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, Lucera had $0.3 million in related party revenues from Cantor. These revenues are included in “Data, software and post-trade” in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Newmark Sublease To BGC

In May 2020, BGC U.S. OpCo entered into an arrangement to sublease excess space from RKF Retail Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Newmark, which sublease was approved by the Audit Committee. The deal is a one-year sublease of approximately 21,000 rentable square feet in New York City. Under the terms of the lease, BGC U.S. OpCo will pay a fixed rent amount of $1.1 million. In connection with this agreement, BGC U.S. OpCo paid $0.1 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020.