Greensill Capital Close to Collapse After Athene Calls Off Deal
Greensill Capital Close to Collapse After Athene Calls Off Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Athene Holding Ltd. has called off plans to buy a part of Greensill Capital’s business, leaving the firm close to collapse.
Talks between Athene, an annuity seller backed by Apollo Global Management Inc., and Greensill were called off on Friday, after more than two weeks of negotiations, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The deal, which would have seen Athene acquire some of Greensill’s IT systems and intellectual property for less than $60 million, was torpedoed when a crucial tech partner obtained funding from major banks that could replace Greensill, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Athene had emerged as the sole credible bidder for some of the company’s assets when Greensill filed for administration on Monday, according to U.K. court filings.
Representatives for Apollo and Greensill declined to comment. The Financial Times first reported the deal was called off on Friday.
The end of the talks will likely leave founder Lex Greensill without other options to save his firm. The startup, which employs more than 500 people, said it was attempting to shake up working-capital finance, a low-margin business dominated by banks like Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc. Questions around the creditworthiness of many of its borrowers led to its fall.
Taulia Inc., which procured most of Greensill’s investment grade notes, reached a deal for more than $6 billion of funding from JPMorgan Chase & Co., UniCredit SpA, UBS Group AG and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA on Wednesday.
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