Ireland's Dolmen Bought by Cantor Fitzgerald

DUBLIN--Ireland's Dolmen Stockbrokers, the country's fourth largest surviving broker, Monday said that it had been acquired by Cantor Fitzgerald of the U.S., as the firm strengthens its focus on Irish government debt and other distressed local corporate debt.

Cantor will apply to join a roster of so-called primary dealers that help Ireland's debt office sell Irish government debt around the world and invest in its other Irish operations, said Dolmen chief executive Ronan Reid, who helped set up Dolmen in 1995.

The acquisition marks another shakeup for Irish stock market brokers whose profits have plunged since the onset of the country's deep banking debt crisis more than four years ago.

NCB Stockbrokers--the country's second largest broker--was bought by Investec PLC of South Africa earlier this year, while Bloxham Stockbrokers was forced into liquidation in May, after the Irish central bank discovered it had overstated its capital reserves. Many of Bloxham's clients transferred to Davy Stockbrokers, Ireland's largest broker, and to Goodbody Stockbrokers, the country's second largest broker.

Irish stock market brokers generated huge profits in their private-client operations during the last of the country's boom years. Amid a huge property market collapse, Ireland was plunged into crisis when the costs of saving its banks escalated from 2008. Forced to strike a bailout deal with the European Union and International Monetary Fund in late 2010, the country hopes to regain full access by selling Irish debt to markets by the time the bailout loans expire at the end of 2013.

Write to Eamon Quinn at [e-mail]