Evolution says it won’t make a bid for Panmure
BRITISH investment bank Evolution Group, which last year decided against making a formal bid for rival Panmure Gordon, said the thought of making a new attempt on Panumre was not on its mind.
In the company’s first public statement on the matter since the original bid fell through, chief executive Alex Snow said: “Panmure is not on the agenda … I have not even thought about it.”
Last October, Evolution decided against bidding for Panmure following opposition from both Panmure itself and one of Evolution’s main shareholders.
Evolution’s situation was complicated since it had to get the support of Qatar’s QInvest, which has a 44 per cent stake in Panmure.
Evolution reported yesterday that adjusted operating profit for the year ending 31 December fell 75 per cent from last year to £5.2m, but it raised its dividend by 10 per cent to 2.75p.