Bonds.com Secures an Additional $6.5 Million Financing

NEW YORK, March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Bonds.com Group, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BDCG) announced today that on February 2, 2011 it  entered into an agreement with Oak Investment Partners ("Oak") and GFINet Inc., an affiliate of GFI Group Inc. ("GFI"), for a $6.5 million investment in Bonds.com Group, Inc. ('Bonds.com"). Oak is a venture capital firm specializing in global technologies. GFI is a leading provider of wholesale brokerage, clearing services, electronic execution and trading support products, providing services to institutional clients for a range of fixed income, equity, commodity and financial products.

H. Eugene Lockhart, Venture Partner at Oak and Patricia Kemp, Director-FinTech at Oak have been named to the Board of Directors of Bonds.com.

With a previous strategic investment from existing investor UBS Americas, Inc., and additional capital raised from individual investors, the agreement brings the total raise by Bonds.com in this financing to $10 million.

Additionally, in connection with this agreement, Bonds.com acquired substantially all of the assets of Beacon Capital Strategies, Inc. Beacon provides an electronic trading platform for execution of mortgage and asset backed fixed income instruments.

These transactions are the first in a series of anticipated strategic moves to expand the firm's market position. Bonds.com is an ATS which provides professional fixed income traders with a platform to interact directly and execute small size in 35,000 fixed income securities from 175 liquidity providers. Bonds.com is the only electronic system that posts live, negotiable orders on a single bond or list basis, and permits price negotiation. Bonds.com remains neutral, acting solely as agent, and all activity is transparent to clients.

Michael Sanderson, CEO of Bonds.com said: "We are convinced that today's bond market will benefit by giving professional traders liquidity and prices to execute small size orders electronically. We are providing fixed income professional traders with the capability to execute in a neutral environment in a timely and cost effective manner. The investment by Oak and GFI reflects their confidence in our model and approach, and we are gratified by their participation. We will continue expanding our presence and products, and growing our market share."

George O'Krepkie, President of Bonds.com said: "With this additional capital, Bonds.com is poised to deliver to professional bond traders our truly innovative alternative to traditional trading. It also establishes a firm foundation on which to build both across asset classes and regionally – both of which are critical to our clients in today's complex global environment."  

Patricia Kemp, Director-FinTech of Oak said: "Oak is committed to providing technology based financial services firms with the resources they need for 'next stage' growth. Bonds.com provides an innovative approach for professional bond traders to access unique liquidity and execute trades in a cost effective manner. Taken together with the addition of Beacon, which provides for execution of less liquid trades as well, we expect that the platform is positioned to operate competitively and to pursue its growth objectives."

Michael Gooch, GFI Group Chairman and CEO said: "GFI is a leader in introducing trading technology to over the counter markets. We see the Bonds.com platform as a compelling execution model for fixed income products, and we are pleased to add Bonds.com to our portfolio of investments in a range of electronic trading, software analytics and market data providers."  

Those interested in learning more about these recent transactions should refer to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 8, 2011, which contains important additional information.

About Oak Investment Partners

Oak Investment Partners is a multi-stage venture capital firm. The primary investment focus is on high growth opportunities in Broadband Internet and Wireless Communications, Information Technology and Software Outsourced Services, Consumer Internet/New Media, Financial Services Technology, Healthcare Information and Services, Clean Energy, and Retail. Over a 33-year history, Oak has achieved a strong track record as a stage-independent investor funding more than 495 companies at key points in their lifecycle. Oak has been involved in the formation of companies, funded spinouts of operating divisions and technology assets, and provided growth equity to mid- and late-stage private businesses and to public companies through PIPE investments.

Oak has helped innovators exploit new business opportunities and anticipate trends through long-term relationships that endure the changing economic landscape. Oak's accomplishments can be best recognized through the success of their companies and the ability to deliver consistent performance over time.

About GFI Group Inc.

GFI Group Inc. (NYSE: GFIG) is a leading provider of wholesale brokerage, clearing services, electronic execution and trading support products for global financial markets. GFI Group Inc. provides brokerage services, market data, trading platform and analytics software products to institutional clients in markets for a range of fixed income, financial, equity and commodity instruments.

Headquartered in New York, GFI was founded in 1987 and employs more than 1,900 people with additional offices in London, Paris, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, Cape Town, Santiago, Dubai, Dublin, Tel Aviv, Calgary, Los Angeles, Bogota, Englewood (NJ) and Sugar Land (TX). GFI Group Inc. provides services and products to over 2,400 institutional clients, including leading investment and commercial banks, corporations, insurance companies and hedge funds. Its brands include GFI(SM), GFInet(R), CreditMatch(R), GFI ForexMatch(R), EnergyMatch(R), FENICS(R), Starsupply(R), Amerex(R), Trayport(R) and Kyte(R).

About  Bonds.com Group, Inc.

Bonds.com Group, Inc., through its subsidiary Bonds.com, Inc., serves institutional fixed income investors by providing a comprehensive zero subscription fee online trading platforms.

The Company provides an inventory of over 35,000 Fixed Income securities from more than 175 liquidity providers. Asset classes currently offered include corporate bonds, emerging market debt, and mortgage and asset backed bonds.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements made in this press release which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding anticipated moves to expand the firm's market position, our future ability to operate competitively and pursue growth objectives and our future performance.  Such forward-looking statements may be prefaced by words such as "anticipated," "expect" and words with similar meanings.  As a result of a number of factors, actual results could differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.  Certain factors that might cause our actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation, general economic conditions and the risks set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.  The company is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Member FINRA/SIPC/MSRB

SOURCE Bonds.com Group, Inc.