JPMorgan Chase & Co. sold its commodities business to Mercuria for $800 million. The sale excludes some oil and metal stockpiles which brought down the asking price. The deal was originally valued at $3.5 billion. The bank decided to sell the business due to rising regulatory and political pressure for it to focus back on lending. Marco Dunand, Chief Executive of Mercuria said, "When we founded Mercuria 10 years ago. It was our goal to develop a global energy focused commodities group." He also said, "The acquisition helps to bring that vision to reality by building upon our physical power, gas and oil operations in North America and by adding to our client base."