LONDON / ZURICH (Reuters) – British fund Greensill Capital said it was in talks to sell large parts of its business on Tuesday after losing the support of two asset managers who had underpinned parts of the supply chain financing model aca.
The Softbank-backed group said in a statement that it hoped to enter into a contract with a “global financial institution” by the end of this week that would cover “major parts” of its operating and managed assets. .
A source close to the talks said the company involved in the talks with Greensill was U.S. private equity firm Apollo, which declined to comment on the situation. Greensill did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Greensill business provides short-term financing that takes a wide range of companies longer to pay their bills.
But several of their messengers have gotten into trouble and Greensill’s troubles escalated this week after two major investors in securities backed by its fund said it wanted to close the fund. .
Swiss fund manager GAM Holding said on Tuesday it was to close GAMill Greensill’s $ 842 million Supply Chain Finance Fund due to “market developments and resulting media coverage” related to supply chain finance.
This came after a statement Monday by Credit Suisse that said it wanted to close $ 10 billion of supply chain funds, mostly invested in securities issued by Greensill, due to concerns about being able to properly value some of them.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Greensill has hired Grant Thornton for a possible restructuring.
Greensill said Tuesday, however, that they were hoping to reach an agreement that would save much of the company.
“While the structure of the new business is still being determined, we expect the transaction to ensure that the majority of Greensill clients continue to be funded in the same way as at present. also retains a large number of jobs, ”he said in a statement.
Greensill was founded in 2011 by former Citigroup banker Lex Greensill, and counts former British Prime Minister David Cameron as an adviser.
They had been trying to raise money in recent months, with Greensill saying it intended to launch within two years.
The WSJ said Monday that Credit Suisse was seeking to reduce its exposure to Greensill Capital due to concerns about Greensill’s exposure to metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta.
The GAM share price fell in 2018 following the closure of another fund that bought bonds issued by GFta GFta and structured by Greensill.
GFG has declined to comment on Greensill. He has previously stated that he has fulfilled all his obligations regarding his bond issues.
GAM said Greensill’s supply chain fund, which it announced Tuesday, was made up of investment-grade funds only and has no “valuation concerns”.
“So we expect a systematic dissolution and return of customer assets in the normal course,” said Peter Sanderson, GAM chief executive.
($ 1 = 0.7183 pounds)
Additional commentary by Carolyn Cohn; Written by Rachel Armstrong; Edited by Alexander Smith