Collins Stewart, the UK stockbroker, has finally agreed to pay up to £251m (€320m) in a mix of cash and shares to buy the privately-owned Tullett & Tokyo Liberty, one of the world's biggest inter-dealer brokers.

The deal, which completes months of intense negotiations revealed by Financial News last September, gives Tullett's board and shareholders a much higher cash element than originally offered by Collins Stewart. Derek Tullett, chairman of Tullett, had hoped to float the money broker this year on the stock market but the board decided an outright sale was preferable in such tough market conditions.