Acquisition (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Business Acquisition [Line Items]

Schedule of Recognized Identified Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed [Table Text Block]

The table below summarizes the preliminary purchase price allocation of net tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of June 1, 2017:

	(dollars in thousands)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	30,562
Segregated cash	129,025
Securities owned, at fair value	3,417
Securities borrowed	258,321
Deposits from clearing organizations	52,596
Receivable from brokers	62,983
Receivable from customers	43,469
Fees receivable	36,232
Fixed assets, net	1,325
Intangible assets	10,270
Other assets	7,528
Securities sold, not yet purchased, at fair value	(71		)
Securities loaned	(286,359		)
Payable to brokers	(74,284		)
Payable to customers	(11,801		)
Commission management payable	(82,718		)
Compensation payable	(31,083		)
Notes payable and other debt	(857		)
Fees payable	(5,414		)
Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities	(33,570		)
Total identifiable net assets acquired and liabilities assumed	109,571
Goodwill/(Bargain purchase gain)	(11,609		)
Total estimated purchase price	$	97,962

Finite-Lived and Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets Acquired as Part of Business Combination [Table Text Block]

As of the acquisition date, the estimated fair value of the Company's intangible assets, as acquired through the acquisition, was $10.3 million. The allocation of the intangible assets is shown within the following table.

	Estimated intangible assets acquired		Estimated average remaining useful lives
	(dollars in thousands)		(in years)
Intangible asset class
Trade name	$	760	0.6 - 2.6
Intellectual property	1,790		5
Customer relationships	7,720		9
Total intangible assets	$	10,270

Finite-lived Intangible Assets Amortization Expense [Table Text Block]

The estimated amortization expense related to these intangible assets in future periods is as follows:

	(dollars in thousands)
2018	$	1,258
2019	1,239
2020	1,216
2021	1,216
2022	1,007
Thereafter	2,931
	$	8,867

Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information

	Year Ended December 31,
	2017			2016
	(dollars in thousands, except per share data)
	(unaudited)
Revenues	$	733,744		$	681,655
Net income (loss) attributable to Cowen Inc. stockholders	(84,671		)	(50,516		)
Net income (loss) per common share:
Basic (a)	$	(2.75	)	$	(1.68	)
Diluted (a)	(2.75		)	(1.68		)

(a) Share and per share amounts have been retroactively updated to reflect the one-for-four reverse stock split effective as of December 5, 2016.