The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Diamond joint takeover bid
Ex-Barclays boss moves on City stockbroker Panmure Gordon
Former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond has launched a joint takeover bid for City stockbroker Panmure Gordon.
Mr Diamond is making the bid through his private equity firm AtlasMerchant Capital, alongside Qatari bank QInvest, which holds around 43% of Panmure.
The deal, for £ 1 per share, values Panmure at £15.5million and represents a 68% premium.
Panmure’sboardhasrecommended the offer to shareholders who will vote on the proposed takeover.
The group said its board “unanimously consider the cash consideration to be fair and reasonable” and that it already has the backing of 60% of investors.
Once complete, the deal will see Panmure, one of the country’s oldest stockbrokers, delisted from the London market and taken private.
The move marks a comeback forMr Diamond, who quit Barclays after the bank’s £290million Liborrigging settlement in 2012.
Mr Diamond was regarded at the time as a brash American investment banker – once described by LordMandelson as the “unacceptable face of banking” due to his lavish pay deals.
Matthew Hansen, the UK head of Atlas, said: “There is significant opportunity for Atlas, in partnership with QInvest, to apply our operational skills and financial services expertise to enhance Panmure Gordon's strong reputationand
“The cash consideration is fair and reasonable”
build a larger boutique investment bank.
“This long-term stabilisation can only realistically be achieved as a private company.”
Shares in Panmure rocketed on the news, rising 71% in morning trading.
Tamim Al Kawari, chief executive of QInvest, said he was “excited” about the opportunity to develop the business and assist it in “fulfilling its potential”.