Barclays free of troublesome shareholder as Sherborne Investors dumps stake
Funds managed by Sherborne Investors have disposed of their entire 6.01% stake in Barclays having achieved nothing except perhaps a trading loss Staley 1 Bramson 0
Barclays PLC (LON:BARC) is no longer in the sights of Sherborne Investors as the activist investor has sold its 6.01% holding in the British bank.
The investment vehicle of corporate trouble-maker Edward Bramson took a stake in Barclays in 2018 with a view to persuading management to rein in its investment banking ambitions.
The chief executive of Barclays, Jes Staley, spent 34 years at the US investment bank JPMorgan and not surprisingly he disagreed with Sherborne’s view.
About 8,300 miles east of Wall Street, on a stretch of Bangalore’s Outer Ring Road, sits what was once the heart of the global financial industry’s back office. Before the pandemic, this cluster of glass-and-steel towers housed thousands of employees at firms like Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and UBS Group AG who played critical roles in everything from risk management to customer service and compliance. Now the buildings are eerily empty. And with case counts soaring across Bangalore and much of India, work-from-home arrangements that have sustained Wall Street’s back-office operations for months are coming under intense strain. A growing number of employees are either sick or scrambling to find critical medical supplies such as oxygen for relatives or friends.
Activist investor sells stake in Barclays
Activist investor Edward Bramson has sold his firm s stake in Barclays (Getty Images)
Activist investor Edward Bramson has sold his firm’s 6 per cent stake in Barclays, ending a three-year campaign against the bank.
Since 2018, Bramson’s fund, Sherborne Investors, pressured Barclays CEO Jes Staley to scale back investment banking, and demanded his removal over his links to US financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but Bramson struggled to gain much traction.
The value of the Sherborne vehicle dedicated to the Barclays stake has fallen by around £150m compared to the £700m it raised when it was formed in 2017.
Hedge Fund Wonât Reopen Bitchy Battle With Barclays After Pandemic Ends
COVID-19 has shown Edward Bramson that lifeâs to short to deal with the likes of Jes Staley.
Author:
May 7, 2021
COVID-19 has shown Edward Bramson that lifeâs to short to deal with the likes of Jes Staley.
When the world came to a screeching halt last March, most assumed they’d soon be back in business. More than a year later, many of those temporary cessations have become permanent: Lord & Taylor and Century 21 are gone for good, along with one in 10 U.S. restaurants. The Arclight will not reopen. There will be no more 4 a.m. egg creams at Gem Spa. And Edward Bramson will not renew his long-running battle with Jes Staley and Barclays.
Sherborne waves white flag after waging a three-year campaign against chief executive Jes Staley
7 May 2021 • 11:09am
Barclays has seen off the threat from an American corporate raider who has finally ended his three-year battle against the bank by selling his entire stake.
New York-based activist Ed Bramson, who runs Sherborne Investors, has sold his 6pc holding to pursue a new investment opportunity weeks after his own shareholders said they were losing patience with the activist s campaign against the bank.
Mr Bramson wanted to shrink Barclays investment banking arm and potentially split it off - setting the stage for a clash with Jes Staley, the chief executive, who fiercely resisted his efforts.