RenCap recap

15 November 2012 By Dominic Elliott

The Russian oligarch has had it with propping up RenCap. He is taking control after the investment bank, hit by sluggish emerging economies, slipped in its domestic core market. For the now politically-focused billionaire, a quick turnaround-and-sale is the order of the day.

This content is for Subscribers only

To access full Breakingviews.com content you must be a subscriber. Please use the following link to request a trial.

Context News

Onexim Group, the investment vehicle of Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, announced on Nov. 14 that it would buy the remaining 50 percent of investment bank Renaissance Capital that it didn’t already own.
Stephen Jennings, the founder of RenCap, will step down from the investment bank to run the rest of Renaissance Group, which will focus on asset management, African urban development, consumer finance and Russian real estate funds. Onexim will also become the indirect owner of 89 percent of Renaissance Credit.
John Hyman, a former Morgan Stanley banker who joined RenCap last year, is taking over as CEO of the investment bank.
RenCap, which was founded by Jennings in 1995, has cut costs 48 percent this year in an attempt to return the bank to profit, according to one person familiar with the situation.
Prokhorov told reporters on Oct. 27 that he was stepping back from Onexim to concentrate solely on politics. Onexim’s chief executive is Dmitry Razumov, a board member of steelmaker RUSAL, and a former RenCap banker.
Onexim’s move to buy the remainder of RenCap comes after requests for more cash to help tide the investment bank over were rebuffed by Prokhorov, according to a Bloomberg report on Nov. 14.

Email a friend

Please complete the form below.

Required fields *