Street Talk can reveal investment banks are elbows-out ahead of a potential selldown from GQG co-founder and CIO Rajiv Jain, who’s sitting on 68.8 per cent – or $4.5 billion worth – of the fund manager.
Sources reckon Jain would look to sell about 5 per cent of his stake to give GQG a shot at being included in the ASX 200. In turn, that would open the floodgates for passive funds which have a mandate to track the index. Macquarie Capital’s desk, in particular, was sniffing out interest among fund managers on Friday. UBS and Goldman Sachs, which helped float the company in late 2021, are also expected to pitch for the lucrative trade.
Jain co-founded GQG in 2016, after 21-years at Vontobel Asset Management. Funds under management stood at $US137.5 billion as of February 29, while GQG stock has risen 50 per cent over the past 12-months.The firm’s $5.91 billion float meant Jain’s stake dropped from 86 per cent to 68.8 per cent. As is customary, his shareholding was escrowed until after GQG’s half-year results to June 2022 were published. That was 18-months ago, but he’s yet to sell a single share.
GQG sold shares at $2 apiece in its IPO bookbuild and the stock has only just returned to similar levels this year, after trading as low as $1.24 a share. Pacific Current’s selldown, on Thursday, was done via UBS at $2.16 a share or a 3.6 per cent discount to the last close.has co-edited Street Talk since 2009, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets stories.