Cenkos pulls bid approach for JM Finn
A TAKEOVER approach by brokerage Cenkos Securities to investment management house JM Finn has been pulled after the parties failed to reach agreement on price and the degree of fit between the two businesses.
Cenkos, founded by Andy Stewart, held a number of informal discussions with JM Finn over recent weeks but subsequently decided the makeup of the business does not complement its own operations. It is also thought to have considered the asking price set by management to be too high.
Cenkos is one of the City’s larger independent broking firms, offering corporate finance, corporate broking, research and wealth management services. It is listed on the Alternative Investment Market with a market cap of £83.4m.
JM Finn, on the other hand, is a privately-owned investment management business which was founded as a partnership in 1945.
The discussions mark the latest in a series of deal approaches on the part of Cenkos, which made further unsuccessful advances to rivals Close Brothers and Arden Partners in the past few years.
A tie-up between Cenkos and JM Finn could also have thrown up awkward questions over the ownership of broker and corporate finance adviser FinnCap, in which JM Finn retains a large stake after the division was spun out in August 2007.
FinnCap, which is run by Sam Smith, one of the City’s most high-profile female chief executives, recently appointed private equity veteran Jon Moulton as its new chairman.