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Regular readers will recall the fun to be had in Australia working out the intentions of ex-UBS leaders Matthew Grounds and Guy Fowler, plus fund manager Magellan and Barclays.
Now we have our answer: Barrenjoey Capital Partners, whose foundation was confirmed in late September.
Actually, Grounds is not yet involved; he’s expected to join next year, but pretty much everyone else from UBS seems to be.
Fowler is executive chairman and, for now, the front man of the venture; others to have joined from the Swiss house include ex-equities head Chris Williams, Jarrod Key, Darren Tan, Barry Sharkey, Peter Nelson, George Kanaan, Chad Mikhael, Stuart Brownrigg, Tim Aurel-Smith, James Ledgerwood and David Pender.
Matt Hanning, former head of investment banking for UBS Asia-Pacific, is a founding partner.
Between them, those names include equities brokerage, trading, analysts, ECM and DCM, plus the executive level.
In the background are the backers we have long expected to see involved in this venture: Magellan Financial Group, the leading Australian fund manager, which has taken a 40% ownership interest, and Barclays, which has taken 9.99%, with the staff owning the rest.
Brett Cairns, CEO of Magellan, will have a board seat, as will Barclays president Paul Compton. Cynthia Whelan, Barclays’ former Australia CEO, will be a senior adviser.
Barclays has confirmed in a statement it is investing A$45 million in Barrenjoey for its stake, and that it has entered into a cooperation agreement with Barrenjoey for global product distribution, research, cross-border advisory and DCM.
Magellan said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange that it is investing A$90 million plus the issuance of 1.2 million shares worth A$65 million and will provide A$50 million in working capital.
Rumours
Other key names, some expected and others not, include Brian Benari, the former CEO of Australian asset manager Challenger, as chief executive; John Cincotta, the former Deutsche Bank Australia executive, as a founding partner; and Ken MacKenzie, the BHP chairman, as a senior strategy partner.
There are also rumours that the non-executive chairman role will be filled by David Gonski, one of the best-connected businessmen in Australia – and, among a host of other things, a senior adviser to Morgan Stanley in Australia.
The next question is how many more hits UBS will take, having already been plundered by another joint venture, Jarden. UBS Australasia heads Anthony Sweetman and Nick Hughes are under siege. It’s a compliment, in a way, but not a particularly welcome one.
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