Tullow Oil to ditch BAML as its broker
TULLOW Oil, the FTSE 100 oil explorer, yesterday parted company with its long-standing corporate brokers, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) and RBS Hoare Govett, appointing Barclays Capital and Morgan Stanley in their place.
BAML’s position had been precarious ever since the bank parted company with corporate broker Andrew Osborne in November.
Osborne, whom Tullow described yesterday as a “very valuable broker to the company” left BAML after being investigated by the Financial Services Authority over claims that he passed over inside information to a large shareholder in a client, Punch Taverns, in 2009. Osborne maintains that he did not deliberately breach any rules and is considering appealing against a £350,000 fine.
BAML says it will maintain a close relationship with Tullow, to whom it is a lender and an adviser.
RBS Hoare Govett, which has been sold to Jefferies, also expected to lose the mandate.
BarCap will be especially pleased with the win. It has been picking up big UK broking clients like British Airways owner IAG, and 3i, the private equity group. Alastair Gain and Bertie Whitehead were on the pitch, while Andrew Foster and Tom Perry led Morgan Stanley’s campaign.