Deutsche Bank has announced it is to close down its Numis US operations, after its takeover of Numis in April last. Following the £410 million (€481.67 million) acquisition, Numis, a London-based stockbroking and corporate advisory group, was renamed Deutsche Numis.
However, in February, Deutsche Bank revealed it had reduced Numis' valuation by about €233 million. This is believed to be one of the driving forces behind the decision to shut down Numis' US arm, called Numis Securities.
Following the closure, around half of Numis Securities' 12 employees will transfer to Deutsche, mainly at its New York office. The remaining employees are likely to join other functions of the bank.
In the UK, Numis' analysts will move to Deutsche Bank's London office. Similar to the US branch, Numis Europe, the company's EU stockbroking arm, based in Ireland, will also be shutting doors. However, Deutsche Bank will still have an Irish presence.
Regarding the shutting down of the US operations, a Deutsche spokesman was quoted in The Telegraph as saying: "Deutsche Bank has a dynamic equity platform in the US, spanning equities distribution, research and equity capital markets.
"We remain fully committed to this business and are confident that, enhanced with colleagues joining us from Numis, we can continue to deliver an outstanding quality of service to all our clients in the US market, both new and existing."
Recently, Deutsche Bank's Russian property, assets, shares and accounts were seized by a Russian court, in connection with the building of a gas processing plant in partnership with Linde.
Deutsche Bank attempts to solidify UK position
Deutsche Bank could be trying to cement its position in the UK market, through its Numis takeover, with a reach of more than 170 corporate broking clients. The newly formed Deutsche Numis is expected to provide corporate broking, advisory and equity capital market (ECM) services, such as sales, execution, research and initial public offering (IPO) services.
Referring to the bank's takeover of Numis, Deutsche Bank's Fabrizio Campelli, said in a statement: "The combination of Deutsche Bank’s UK and Ireland corporate finance business with Numis is a perfect partnership and we are delighted to bring the teams together under the new brand Deutsche Numis.
"The transaction is strongly aligned to our Global Hausbank strategy, allowing us to expand our reach amongst UK and international corporates in Europe's largest investment banking market, and underlines our long-term commitment to the UK."
Alex Ham, co-CEO of Deutsche Numis also said in the statement: "Deutsche Numis is now a leading force in UK investment banking, building on a long track record of providing innovative financial advice and solutions for ambitious public and private companies, and investors doing business in the UK."
