Cazenove set to reject Barclays approach
The UK’s oldest independent stockbroker is set to reject a takeover approach by banking giant Barclays.
Cazenove, whose clients include the Queen, is believed to have made the decision in order to pursue a merger with US-based investment bank Lehman Brothers.
According to The Sunday Telegraph, the stockbroker has set itself an informal deadline of the summer holidays to seal its fate.
Cazenove has remained tight-lipped since the Barclays approach was reported last week. Nobody from the firm was available for comment today.
Today’s report quoted a senior member as saying the firm wanted to enter a partnership with a group that had investment banking strength in the US, as well as merger capability in the UK.
“Barclays has none of that,” the source told the newspaper.
The speculation comes a month after Cazenove announced it had resurrected plans for a stock market listing.
Cazenove said at the time that it had also received takeover approaches, although it did not disclose the identities of those interested.
No price has been put on a deal but it is thought the internal market for the stockbroker’s shares valued it at £750 million – implying a loss for institutions that bought shares in a placing in April 2001.
A firmer indication on price is likely to come next month when Cazenove publishes its results for the last year.
The 181-year-old institution advises nearly half of FTSE 100 companies and employs 1,000 staff in nine countries.
