CITY WHISPERS: Broker Marex eyes US float
CITY WHISPERS: Marex sees US float… if New York wants it – but broker doesn’t have the best reputation across the pond
Eyebrows were raised on City trading desks when commodities broker Marex said it could float in New York.
Marex had intended to go public in London in May 2021 with a valuation of £500 million, but market volatility has thwarted that.
Since then, raw materials have risen enormously, especially steel, a specialty of Marex. It increased profits by more than half last year to £97m on revenue of £562m.
Reputation: Marex was founded on the ruins of New York-based Refco, which went bankrupt after boss Phillip Bennett was discovered to have hidden £344 million in bad debts
The owner, private equity firm JRJ, now wants a return on its investment.
But Marex doesn’t have the best reputation in the US, having been founded on the ruins of New York-based Refco, which went bankrupt in 2005 after CEO Phillip Bennett was found to have hidden £344 million in bad debt.
Marathon Asset Management took over Refco’s European arm and renamed it Marex, selling it in 2009 to JRG, which still holds a 74 percent stake.
A source said: ‘I’m not sure New York is Marex’s natural home. American investors remember Refco. I would stay with London.’
British fat cats defend their wages
Britsain’s private equity cats have been hard at work defending their pay, particularly “carried interest,” the portion of their pay that is considered a share of deal profits.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves convened the summit to discuss the practice, widely seen as a tax loophole.
The Labor politician has seen Bridgepoint boss William Jackson and 3i chief executive Simon Borrows in recent weeks.
CVC Capital Partners also had a tête-à-tête with her ahead of a highly anticipated float when the firm is expected to reject London for Amsterdam.
Reeves is not a fan of private equity, so the chiefs must have been squirming in their Savile Row suits.
What now for the former bosses of Rolls and Vodafone?
What’s next for former Rolls-Royce boss Warren East and Nick Read, CEO at Vodafone for four years?
Both stepped down at Christmas and, according to headhunters, are both seeking chairmanships at an FTSE blue chip.
The problem is that publicly traded companies are under pressure to hire women and minorities in senior positions.
No time to be manly, pale or – not that Whispers would suggest it about these two – musty.
FTX plans to relaunch itself
FTX – remember? The baby of now-disgraced crypto prodigy Sam Bankman-Fried plans to relaunch himself six months after his abrupt collapse under a mountain of fraud allegations.
The gossip emanating from the cryptosphere has emerged following reports that the bankrupt exchange has recovered more than $7bn (£5.5bn) in cash and assets.
FTX attorney Andy Dietderich seemed to have all but confirmed the group’s plans for a repeat, telling a US bankruptcy court this week that “the dumpster fire is out.”
But while the exchange may be back on the crypto high seas, the former boss is awaiting trial for fraud, which could land him 115 years in prison.