Sir John Bond, the chairman of Vodafone, and Simon Robertson, the chairman of Rolls-Royce, are among a clutch of City heavyweights backing a management bid for Kleinwort Benson, one of the City’s oldest and venerable private banks.
Sir John Bond, the chairman of Vodafone, and Simon Robertson, the chairman of Rolls-Royce, are among a clutch of City heavyweights backing a management bid for Kleinwort Benson, one of the City’s oldest and venerable private banks.
The bank, whose roots date back to the 1850s, has been put up for sale after its owner, Commerzbank, was ordered by the European Commission to sell off several assets after it took up €18.2 bn (£16.3 bn) of state aid from the German government.
The EC told the German bank, which acquired Kleinwort Benson in September last year, that it needed to focus on its home market. It has given Commerzbank until 2011 to sell off Kleinwort Benson, whose turnover rose to a record £95m last year.
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Following the announcement in May that the bank was to be put up for sale, Kleinwort Benson’s chief executive, Robert Taylor, said that he and his management team were exploring options including a private-equity backed buy-out of the business as well as a trade sale.
To read the full story, visit telegraph.co.uk
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