Prebon spruce-up for partner search

MONEYBROKING firm Prebon Group is seeking a minority outside investor to beef up its balance sheet and give it extra firepower as the industry heads for further consolidation.

Prebon trades in London as Prebon Marshall Yamane and is one of the big four in the industry alongside Icap, Collins Stewart Tullett and the French group Tradition. It wants to woo a private equity group investor.

Tony Verrier, who runs Prebon in London, said: 'We've been actively looking at that in the last 12 months.'

He played down speculation that Prebon is seeking a tie-up with Collins Stewart Tullett, saying 'nothing at all' was going on in the way of merger talks. The two sides held discussions last year.

Prebon is sprucing itself up to attract outside investor groups, today reporting that the core London-based Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) division is on course for operating profits of £11.7m in the year to March, up 28%.

The group, a complex web of 92 different companies, is cleaning up its opaque accounting arrangements to make it more attractive to outside investors.

Apax, 3i, Barclays Private Equity, Bridgepoint and PPM Ventures are among the private equity groups thought to be potentially interested.