	exco buys u s government securities broker exco international plc a subsidiary of british and commonwealth shipping co plc bcom l said it had agreed in principle to buy an pct stake in rmj holdings corp for about mln dlrs exco chairman richard lacy told reuters the uisition was being made from bank of new york co inc bk n which currently holds a pct and from rmj partners who hold the remainder bank of new york and the partners will retain about pct each and these stakes will be bought over the next six years rmj is the holding company of rmj securities one of the largest u s government securities brokers it is also involved in broking notes obligations and other instruments sponsored by u s federal agencies lacy said exco had been considering buying a u s government securities broker for the past four years and had made an offer for rmj when it was sold by security pacific corp spc n in rmj was then valued at about mln dlrs b and c managing director peter goldie said rmj would be bought at about the same multiple as exco suggesting net income of around mln dlrs the company s earnings had not been hit by the halving of brokerage fees some months ago as volumes had since doubled lacy said that rmj employed some people with in the brokerage business and about in its sms unit which provided computer software for the financial services community rmj securities had offices in new york where total market turnover of u s government securities was billion dlrs a day and in london where it has billion it was also given permission last week to open an office in tokyo where total market turnover had lifted rapidly to about five billion dlrs a day the uisition would contribute between five and pct of b and c s share earnings in on a proforma basis reuter 
