ED&F Man Capital Markets has confirmed it is in sales talks with rival broker Marex and has agreed a “period of exclusivity to finalise its proposed acquisition”.

ED&F Man Capital Markets, the brokerage arm of commodities giant ED&F Man, said on Friday: “Today, the group has granted the global diversified financial services platform Marex a period of exclusivity to finalise its proposed acquisition of all ED&F Man Capital Markets businesses subject to agreement of contractual terms and regulatory approval.”

In a note to clients seen by Global Investor, Jade Moore, the group executive director of ED&F Man Capital Markets, added: “We firmly believe that the proposed transaction will be in the best interests of all stakeholders in particular our customers and employees.”

“We are confident that under new ownership ED&F Man Capital Markets will have the right platform to drive growth and seize the many opportunities it sees, and, with the appropriate resources and investment, that it will enable the firm to achieve its full potential.”

ED&F Man Capital markets said its long-standing chief executive Chris Smith will leave the firm, subject to the completion of the acquisition.

Moore said in the note: “It has been agreed by mutual consent that the firm’s founder and global CEO Christopher Smith will leave ED&F Man Capital Markets to, in due course, pursue other opportunities.

The firm added: “Until completion, Gary Pettit will lead the UK, EMEA and APAC businesses, and Joseph Weinhoffer will be responsible for leading the US operations.”

Pettit, the UK chief executive of ED&F Man Capital Markets for the past two years, resigned from that role at the start of June, as first reported by Global Investor.

Bloomberg reported in early May that ED&F Man Capital Markets was in talks to sell itself to Marex, in a deal estimated by Bloomberg sources to be worth $235m (£196m).

ED&F Man Capital Markets has been seeking investment since 2020 when the firm submitted a scheme of arrangement to raise about $320 million from creditors which the commodities group said would allow it to “continue with disposals in an orderly manner and not sell in a volatile market”.

More recently, ED&F Man Capital Markets emerged as a broker to Russian-owned trading firm Sova Capital that went into administration in March amid sanctions on Russian firms linked to the invasion of Ukraine.