By Matt Turner
Of FINANCIAL NEWS
LONDON--Ian Hannam, the renowned former JP Morgan Chase &
Co. (JPM) deal maker whose private company last year took control
of small and mid-cap adviser Strand Partners, has officially joined
the firm, according to the Financial Services Register.
Mr. Hannam was last week registered as working at Strand
Partners, according to the register, marking the official return to
the industry of the former banker who stood down from JP Morgan
last year to fight a regulatory fine.
Known as the "king of mining M&A", Mr. Hannam brought
numerous natural resources firms to market in London, helping shape
the FTSE 100 in the process. Former clients include natural
resources companies Kazakhmys PLC (KAZ.LN), Ferroxpo PLC (FXPO.LN),
Fresnillo PLC (FRES.LN), Bumi PLC (BUMI.LN), Essar Energy PLC
(ESSR.LN) and Ophir Energy PLC (OPHR.LN). He was also a key adviser
to Mick Davis, the Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) chief executive who even
spoke at the banker's leaving drinks from JP Morgan last
summer.
However, Mr. Hannam stood down from JP Morgan under a cloud in
April last year to fight a 450,000 pound ($685,850) fine levied by
the Financial Services Authority for market abuse relating to
Heritage Oil PLC (HOIL.LN), an oil and gas exploration company for
which Mr. Hannam was lead corporate adviser.
In a personal statement at the time of his resignation, Mr.
Hannam said that he strongly believed that the FSA's conclusions
were wrong and said he looked forward, "to challenging them in an
independent tribunal."
The departure from the U.S. investment bank did not, however,
mark his exit from the mining industry. As reported by Financial
News in February, Mr. Hannam acquired small and mid-cap adviser
Strand Partners through his Elgin Partners vehicle and had
approached John Manser, a former chairman of Robert Fleming
Holdings, to act as chairman of the newly-launched firm.
According to the Financial Services Register, Mr. Manser joined
Strand Partners on Apr. 1 a as non-executive director. Mr. Hannam
could not be reached for comment. Mr. Manser did not return
messages seeking comment.
The duo join a raft of former JP Morgan colleagues at the firm.
Neil Passmore, a former colleague of Mr. Hannam's at JP Morgan, was
installed as chief executive following the acquisition. More recent
additions included JP Morgan alumni Chris Byrne, Leigh Fogelman,
Paloma Mele de Juan and Michael Reynolds - a one-time head of
compliance at JP Morgan Cazenove who has joined as a non-executive
director.
Mr. Passmore did not return messages seeking comment.
Mr. Hannam sits at the centre of a tight-knit group of former
Flemings and JP Morgan bankers who have overlapping interests,
spanning a spider's web of mining projects from Central Asia to
West Africa. Other names of current or former Flemings and JP
Morgan figures involved within this group include Michael Haworth,
Lloyd Pengilly and Lord Robin Renwick, who remains a vice-chairman
of European investment banking at JP Morgan.
Another connection is Matthew Clarke, a former Flemings banker
who founded natural resources adviser Merlin Partners, which has
also been adding ex-JP Morgan staff in recent months.
Mr. Clarke is one of three directors of Centar Technical
Services (UK), a 100%-owned subsidiary of Centar, a company
exploring for gold in Afghanistan established by Mr. Hannam. In
December, the office manager at Merlin Partners acted as witness to
Mr. Hannam's signature on a written resolution at Strand
Partners.
The group of ex-JP Morgan bankers now massing at Merlin Partners
includes Rupert Fane, a one-time head of the international equity
syndicate at JP Morgan Cazenove, and fellow equity capital markets
specialist Alexander Yule-Smith. Cormac McNulty, also from JP
Morgan Cazenove, has also joined.
--Write to Matt Turner at matthew.turner@dowjones.com