Strand Hanson strikes a pact with Russia’s Renaissance
CORPORATE finance boutique Strand Hanson has forged a strategic advisory alliance with Renaissance Capital, under which the Russian emerging markets investment bank is to take a 9.9 per cent stake in the business.
The deal comes after a busy year for Strand, which was bought out by a management team led by chief executive Simon Raggett last May and also sold a 10 per cent stake to current chairman Robert Hanson, the son of the late industrial tycoon Lord Hanson, in October.
Raggett said the partnership would allow both companies greater penetration into M&A and equity capital markets activity for companies listed on Aim, particularly those in the overseas natural resources sector, where Strand has concentrated in recent years.
“We were one of the first to embrace overseas companies, and it turned out to be the right call because of the flow of business from wealthier nations into the less wealthy emerging markets,” he said. “Had we been focused exclusively on the domestic markets, the past few years would have been a lot tougher.”
Renaissance Capital, part of the Renaissance Group, operates primarily in Russia, Central Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. It was founded in 1995 in Moscow.