The Australian investment banking scene is in for a shake up, with top equity capital markets operatives and investment bankers about to start at least one new venture.
Market sources say that a move by former UBS Australia boss Matthew Grounds and his former colleague and top executive at the bank, Guy Fowler, could be weeks away from announcing a new investment banking venture.
The company is believed to be backed by high profile fund manager Hamish Douglass.
Meanwhile, former prominent equity markets operative Robbie Vanderzeil is about to start a separate venture with his former UBS colleagues John Spencer and Sarah Rennie, joining forces with the New Zealand boutique Jarden.
Jarden opened an office in Australia, as revealed by DataRoom in October, and has been a Credit Suisse affiliate.
Others remain adamant that Mr Vanderzeil and his backers will join up with Mr Grounds as speculation continues on Thursday that at least one more top UBS Australia executive was heading for the door to join the banking venture.
Ms Rennie, who left UBS in 2013 as a managing director to join Goldman Sachs with the same rank, resigned as head of equity capital markets at the US-based bank this week.
Mr Vanderzeil left UBS in March, with his departure followed soon after by John Spencer.
The venture Mr Vanderzeil is said to be launching has been described to parties around the market as something “a little bit different” and is understood to be a boutique.
Meanwhile, a move by Mr Grounds to start a new investment bank has been widely talked about and was flagged by DataRoom in February.
Speculation has existed for some time that the venture would be backed by Mr Douglass.
The retirement by Mr Grounds from UBS, at the age of 50, was announced in July after what had been a highly successful career at the bank. The retirement prompted much speculation about his next move.
He left UBS at around the end of the year and was replaced by Anthony Sweetman and Nick Hughes as co-country heads.
While Mr Grounds has been reluctant to comment on his plans, some believe that a venture of which he is heading could be only weeks away from being announced.
As reported by The Australian last year, Mr Grounds was known for the famous Kangaroo deal, which ring-fenced Australian bonuses from the problems facing UBS in Switzerland for five years from 2009.
Mr Grounds was hired by Bill Gurry into Potter Partners in 1996 after working for Peter Mason at Schroders straight out from completing his degree in commerce and law from the University of NSW.
He joined around the same time as Magellan co-founders Hamish Douglass and Chris Mackay.
Billionaires Hamish Douglass and Chris Mackay co-founded Magellan in 2006 and have built it into a funds management giant with more than $83 billion worth of funds under management, though neither has day-to-day management roles.
Meanwhile, Ms Rennie was appointed head of ECM at Goldman Sachs in 2016.
The veteran investment banker is highly regarded in the equity capital markets arena and her departure comes after senior Goldman’s investment banker Sean Walsh, who was co-head of the bank’s financing group for Australia and New Zealand, left last year.
Mr Vanderzeil led UBS hedge fund sales through the M&A boom of the mid 2000s and transferred to global banking as the head of capital markets before returning to Australia as head of equities.
In 2014, he transitioned back to global banking as chairman of capital markets, a position that he has maintained over the past six years.
As well as staff departures, other challenges currently exist for UBS.
The bank is currently looking into how reports of a sexual harassment claim made against a male executive in the Australia team at UBS were leaked.
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