Bob Diamond to Return to U.K. Banking With Panmure Gordon Buy -- Update

By Ian Walker 

LONDON -- Former Barclays PLC Chief Executive Bob Diamond is to return to U.K. banking by joining forces with a Qatari investment group to buy 140-year-old stockbroker Panmure Gordon & Co. PLC.

Panmure on Friday said it had accepted a GBP15.5 million ($19.2 million) cash offer from Ellsworthy Ltd., an investment vehicle formed by Mr. Diamond and Qatar investment bank QInvest LLC. The pair will pay 100 pence a share for Panmure, of which QInvest already owns more than 43%.

Mr. Diamond gained global recognition for building up Barclays's investment bank, including the lender's bold purchase of parts of Lehman Brothers at the height of the financial crisis. He became the U.K. bank's chief executive at the start of 2011 but was forced to resign in July 2012 amid controversy over manipulation of Libor interest rates by traders employed by the bank.

Since then, the American investment banker has focused on African financial group Atlas Mara Ltd., which he helped found in 2013 and floated on the London Stock Exchange, raising money to buy banks in several African countries. However, that venture has recently soured, with a share price decline and the departure of its chief executive.

Panmure largely serves midcap companies listed in London, a highly competitive market that has consolidated in recent years. For the year ended Dec. 31, 2015 it reported a pretax loss of GBP18.9 million and had a record 152 clients. It has since said it expects to report a profit this year.

Write to Ian Walker at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 17, 2017 04:24 ET (08:24 GMT)

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