Standard Chartered has bought the mining advisory firm Gryphon Partners. The deal has been in the offing for a while and was made in a bid to expand the influence of Standard Chartered into Canada and Australia. The specialised corporate advisor presently has offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Toronto and Vancouver.
Gryphon Partners was founded in 2003 in Australia and expanded in 2008 to Canada. The company has been involved in some deals involving large player such as the sale of OZ Mineral’s Martabe project in 2009. Gryphon Partners will now be absorbed into Standard Chartered's existing mining advisory team, and will focus on corporate advisory and mergers and acquisitions.
Allen Clennar the chief executive of Standard Chartered in Australia said that they had not announced the deal to the public before they had received the regulatory and bank approvals. No details were provided about the price paid or when the agreement was reached.
Gryphon Partners co-founders Creagh O'Connor and Rob Greenslade will have to stay with the business for between two to four years as part of the deal. The two had emerged from the Normandy Mining of Rob Champion de Crespigny to form Gryphon Partners in 2003.
After the deal was made public yesterday Mr. O’Connor said that rather than being sorry at his baby having grown up, he was looking forward to getting access to the booming markets, and no doubt the deep pockets, of China and India. Mr. Greenslade said that the partnership between Standard Chartered and Gryphon will complement their respective strengths and generate significant business growth.