Panmure Gordon and Liberum are set to merge to create the UK’s largest independent investment bank, with ex-Barclays executive Rich Ricci stepping into the chief executive role of the combined entity.
The new firm – Panmure Liberum – will be a market maker in over 750 stocks with all-cap execution capabilities and have over 250 quoted corporate clients with market cap of £250 million.
Once approved, the expanded trading platform of Panmure Liberum will also boast trading relationships with more than 900 counterparties across the UK, US, Europe and Asia.
The firms confirmed that the minimal overlap in corporate clients and corporate expertise makes for a “highly complementary partnership”, resulting in the creation of the UK’s largest independent investment bank.
“Over the last three years we have doubled our corporate client base, made significant investment in talent and materially increased our share of the UK market across our trading and execution capabilities,” said chief executive Ricci.
“In Panmure Liberum, we are combining two highly complementary and culturally aligned businesses and creating a new force in UK investment banking with an exciting long-term future.”
In addition to Ricci’s role, the Panmure Liberum board will comprise Shane Le Prevost – founder and executive director at Liberum – as non-executive chair, Bidhi Bhoma as deputy chief executive, David Parsons as head of equities, and Richard Morecombe as president, head of origination and business development.
Together the two firms have an aggregate of £9.9 billion of equity raised over the last five years, as well as ranking number one for UK IPOs under £1 billion market capitalisation by deal volume over the same time frame. In addition, Panmure Liberum would rank thirteenth overall for all UK public M&A in 2023 by number of deals, as well as possessing research coverage across more than 580 stocks across the UK and Europe.
The new combined entity will have offices in Cambridge, Guernsey, Leeds, London, and New York.
Specialist financial services investor, Atlas Merchant Capital, is backing the merger, providing enough liquidity to support Panmure Liberum’s long-term strategic ambitions.
Bob Diamond, founding partner and chief executive at Atlas Merchant Capital, explained: “This merger will lift the level and quality of service to mid and small-cap businesses and investors in the UK and beyond. These businesses are the lifeblood of the UK economy and require flexible and tailored solutions to enhance their productivity.”
In an increasingly volatile market, it has come as a minimal surprise to market onlookers that the number of sell-side firms seeing mergers as growth strategy has surged.
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Panmure and Liberum aim “to reinvigorate the appeal of UK listed equities and of listing companies and funds in the UK” through this merger, with plans to strengthen and complement its core offerings of high-quality investment banking, execution, research, and sales before taking further steps in the M&A and private capital raising spheres – with new service lines set to include debt advisory.
Le Prevost highlighted that the merger will pave the way for both firms to capitalise on opportunities and take their business to the next level.
“[…] Combining the financial strength of Atlas Merchant Capital with our culture of employee ownership is a highly compelling proposition. Both firms share an entrepreneurial approach that I am confident will attract and retain the best industry talent to ensure that we provide our clients with outstanding service throughout the cycle.”
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval from three regulators: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in the US (FINRA) and the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC).
The deal comes just three months after Deutsche Bank completed the acquisition of institutional broker Numis for £410 million.