Knight Gets Higher Price in Getco Sacrificing Cash Certainty

Knight Capital Group Inc.’s decision to pursue a takeover by Getco LLC gives its shareholders, mostly Wall Street firms, an opportunity for stock appreciation while surrendering the certainty of cash.

Knight, pushed to the brink of bankruptcy in August by a trading error, chose Getco’s proposal yesterday over a competing offer from Virtu Financial LLC, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The Chicago-based high-frequency trader offered $3.75 a share for Knight, one-third of it in stock, for a total value of $1.4 billion, according to a statement from Knight today. Virtu’s offer was all-cash.