Durlacher rebels aim to wreck merger

PLANS for a merger between stockbroker Panmure Gordon and mini-investment bank Durlacher are on the brink of collapse this weekend after a behind-the-scenes campaign to derail the deal.

Figures in the Durlacher boardroom insist the tie-up will be approved at a shareholder meeting on 14 April. However, reports from the Panmure camp say the deal will be abandoned, with an announcement possibly as early as tomorrow.

A merger would allow banking giant Lazard to offload Panmure, bought only last year. Durlacher would treble its size by issuing shares to buy the much larger Panmure.

But the proposals are being resisted by some Durlacher employees, many of whom hold shares. Some private investors oppose the deal and at least one of the company's biggest institutional shareholders is said to harbour deep reservations.

Panmure and Lazard believe there is a real risk that the Durlacher board might fail to secure the backing it needs for the proposed deal. Panmure insiders say Durlacher wants to avoid risking the humiliation of being rebuffed so will announce its withdrawal from the deal before it is put to a vote.