TP Icap, the interdealer dealer, is coming beneath intense stress from City shareholders to interrupt itself up in a transfer they imagine might set off a £1.5bn capital return.
Sky News has learnt that quite a few the corporate’s most vital institutional traders have begun talks about strikes to press TP Icap’s board into exploring a proper sale course of for Parameta, its high-margin knowledge division.
The shareholders imagine that an public sale might yield a worth as excessive as £1.5bn, which might be larger than the market capitalisation of your complete group.
City sources stated on Tuesday that the establishments had been eager to formally interact with Richard Berliand, TP Icap’s chairman, on the potential sale.
Earlier this 12 months, Phase 2 Partners, a US-based hedge fund, wrote to Mr Berliand lambasting the corporate’s “disastrous share price decline”.
During the previous 12 months, TP Icap shares have risen modestly and hit their highest degree in that interval throughout Tuesday buying and selling.
It is unclear whether or not Mr Berliand and Nicolas Breteau, its chief government since 2018, are ready to bow to City calls for for a sale of Parameta.
TP Icap raised tons of of thousands and thousands of kilos final 12 months to fund the acquisition of Liquidnet, a US equities buying and selling enterprise.
The group was fashioned from the merger of the broking arms of Tullett Prebon and Icap, the corporations respectively based by City heavyweights Terry Smith and Lord Spencer.
A spokesman for TP Icap declined to remark.
Source: information.sky.com”