UPDATE 1-Brokers GFI and Tullett in merger talks - paper

LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - GFI Group Inc (GFIG.O: ) and British rival Tullett Prebon (TLPR.L: ) are "days away" from merging to become the world's biggest interdealer markets broker, Financial News reported on its Web site on Thursday. The deal will be structured as a merger of equals, Financial News said, citing a source close to the talks. Both GFI and Tullett declined to comment. A GFI spokesman said last November it had held merger talks with Tullett Prebon in July that year but the discussions were broken off because the two could not come to a "mutually satisfactory conclusion". Analysts said a possible deal would be a good fit for both companies, saving cost and filling out product holes. "We believe that a well structured deal would make both tactical and strategic sense for Tullett Prebon," Goldman Sachs said in a... [read full story]