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City stockbroker Panmure Gordon today secured £23 million of funding from the Middle East after a dramatic three-way battle between potential investors.
QInvest, the largest investment bank in Qatar, took a 44% stake in the 133-year-old firm by buying 67.5 million new shares for 34p each. The shares today rose 2p to 42p.
Panmure said the deal would give it a £45 million cushion to shield it from further turmoil in the financial system - more than three times the regulatory requirement - as well as exposure to the oil-rich Gulf region.The Qatari deal trumped two previous offers from hedge funds BlueGem Partners, which is advised by Bob Wigley, formerly Merrill Lynch's top man in Europe, and Bertrand des Pallieres' SPQR Capital.
BlueGem last month offered to inject £17.3 million at 24p a share for a 40.3% stake before SPQR proposed an investment of £17.4 million at 28p a share for 43%.
Panmure chairman Tony Caplin said the board was swayed by the higher price offered from QInvest and the "exceptional contacts they provide in the Middle East".
QInvest chief executive Shahzad Shahbaz will join the Panmure board.
