Wall Street investment bank Jefferies Financial Group Inc. JEF-N is preparing for a wave of cross-border transactions by hiring former deputy prime minister John Manley and the ex-head of Credit Suisse Canada as part of a global expansion strategy.
Two months after landing five dealmakers and a trio of analysts from Barclays PLC’s Canadian office, New York-based Jefferies is bringing in Mr. Manley as its chair and veteran investment banker Ron Lloyd as its deputy chair, according to sources. The Globe and Mail is not identifying them as they’re not permitted to speak for the bank. A spokesperson for Jefferies declined comment. The two executives are expected to start in December.
Jefferies focuses on sectors such as energy, technology, health care and private equity, and has expanded rapidly in the past few years to become one of the top 10 U.S. advisers on mergers and acquisitions, and financings. Mr. Manley and Mr. Lloyd bring established relationships across corporate Canada, and experience in advising foreign companies on domestic takeovers.
The team Jefferies hired from Barclays in August, led by chief executive officer Bruce Rothney, ranked among Canada’s top five M&A advisers last year. The former Barclays investment bankers are also expected to arrive at Jefferies in December, after taking time off to honour non-compete commitments, a break known on Bay Street as “gardening leave.”
Mr. Manley served as deputy prime minister, finance minister and industry minister under then-prime minister Jean Chrétien. After leaving politics in 2004, he ran the Business Council of Canada for eight years, working with CEOs across the country.
Mr. Manley is chair of Telus Corp. T-T and previously chaired the boards of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and CAE Inc. He is also a senior adviser at law firm Bennett Jones LLP, a dominant player in the oil patch.
Mr. Lloyd was CEO of Credit Suisse Canada for 18 years, departing this summer after UBS Group AG acquired the parent bank in a government-backed rescue. Prior to that, he was president of Merrill Lynch Canada and an executive at Barrick Gold Corp. and Gordon Capital Corp.
Credit Suisse had deep ties to Canadian energy, mining, tech and financial services companies, a client roster that dovetails with the sectors that Jeffries is targeting.
Last month, London-based Barclays hired Geoffrey Belsher as its CEO, replacing Mr. Rothney. Mr. Belsher is the former global co-head of wholesale banking at CIBC and president of Lehman Brothers’ Canadian operations, which Barclays acquired during the 2008 financial crisis.
Jefferies is expected to continue hiring in Canada as part of a global build out that also includes attracting talent in Asia and Europe. In an interview last month, CEO Richard Handler predicted the bank will have 360 investment banking managing directors by the start of 2024, a 70-per-cent increase in four years.
In 2021, Jefferies struck an alliance with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., one of Japan’s largest banks. The Tokyo-based bank committed US$3.4-billion to Jefferies in return for a stake of up to 15 per cent. The two stuck a partnership to give Jefferies’ corporate customers access to loans from Sumitomo, while the Japanese bank’s clients get advice on deals from Jefferies.
Andrew Willis