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Cowen Group, Inc. to Acquire Concept Capital Markets

Furthers Cowen’s Strategy of Providing Best-in-Class,
Non-conflicted Products and Services

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jul. 15, 2015–
Cowen Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:COWN) (“Cowen” or the “Company”) and Concept
Capital Markets, LLC
(“Concept Capital”) today announced the signing of
a definitive agreement under which Cowen will acquire Concept Capital, a
leading independent provider of prime brokerage services. While
financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Cowen Group expects the
acquisition to be accretive to earnings in 2015. The transaction was
approved by the board of directors of both companies.

“Concept Capital’s strong presence among emerging hedge fund clients
complements Cowen’s focus on providing best-in-class products and
services to institutional clients,” said Peter A. Cohen, Chairman and
CEO of Cowen Group. “Given the changing prime broker landscape, many
investment managers are looking for alternative prime solutions and
there are a limited number of organizations offering a similar kind of
value proposition as Concept Capital on Cowen’s platform. Combining
Concept Capital with Cowen’s business will allow us to better service
these funds by providing focused prime broker services, supported by
non-conflicted trade execution and world-class equity research.”

Jeffrey M. Solomon, President of Cowen Group added, “Concept Capital has
proven to be a value added partner to its client base for a number of
years. By joining forces, we have an opportunity to grow with Concept’s
existing clients and further develop its competitive offering for an
underserved part of the emerging investment manager community that is
looking to outperform. In addition, Concept’s clients will benefit from
access to Cowen’s high quality institutional equity research, investment
conferences, and suite of electronic products. We believe this
represents a compelling opportunity to deliver our premier institutional
products and services as a value-added partner that is invested in
helping clients produce long-term investment outperformance.”

“We have found the ideal partner with Cowen,” said Michael S. Rosen and Jack D. Seibald, Co-Founders of Concept Capital. “Cowen and Concept
Capital share the same values, including a commitment to putting clients
first. This transaction is a unique opportunity to align with a
well-respected financial services organization that understands our
client’s needs from the standpoint of a client. We believe that our
alignment with Cowen provides complementary strengths that will enable
us to significantly enhance the breadth of services to our clients.
Importantly, the transaction will not impact client accounts held with
our various clearing firms, nor the manner in which clients are served
day to day.”

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2015 and is
subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP acted as legal advisor to Cowen and Seward
& Kissel LLP
acted as legal advisor to Concept Capital on this
transaction.

About Cowen Group, Inc.

Cowen Group, Inc. is a diversified financial services firm and, together
with its consolidated subsidiaries, provides alternative asset
management, investment banking, research, and sales and trading services
through its two business segments: Ramius and its affiliates make up the
Company’s alternative investment segment, while Cowen and Company and
its affiliates make up the Company’s broker-dealer segment. Ramius
provides alternative asset management solutions to a global client base
and manages a significant portion of Cowen’s proprietary capital. Cowen
and Company
and its affiliates offer industry focused investment banking
for growth-oriented companies, domain knowledge-driven research and a
sales and trading platform for institutional investors. Founded in 1918,
the firm is headquartered in New York and has offices worldwide.

About Concept Capital Markets, LLC

Concept Capital offers a comprehensive suite of brokerage and related
services that provide traditional and alternative investment managers
with solutions that are customizable and scalable. The firm was built by
former investment managers to serve hedge fund managers, managed account
platforms, institutional investors, family offices, and registered
investment advisors with turn-key solutions designed to free its clients
to focus on their core competencies. Our offering features world-class
custody and clearing options, multi asset class capabilities, leading
execution and order management systems, a seasoned execution desk, a
range of financing options, a highly professional operations and
customer support team, comprehensive portfolio reporting capabilities,
and capital introduction. Concept Capital Markets, LLC is headquartered
in Garden City, New York and operates offices in New York City and
Purchase, NY, Greenwich, CT, El Segundo and Santa Monica, CA, Atlanta,
GA
, and Delray Beach, FL. The firm is registered as a Broker Dealer and
Investment Adviser with the SEC, and is a member of FINRA, NFA, and
SIPC. For additional information, visit http://www.conceptcapital.com.

Source: Cowen Group, Inc.

Cowen Group, Inc.
Stephen Lasota, 212-845-7919
or
Media
Dan
Gagnier, 212-687-8080
or
Carissa Felger, 212-687-8080