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Sanjeev Gupta, the billionaire industrialist behind the GFG Alliance conglomerate, was a shareholder in Greensill, the controversial supply chain finance company that sold hundreds of millions of dollars of GFG bonds to the manager of GFG. Swiss portfolio GAM.
The revelation that Gupta was an investor in Greensill adds to the complex network of relations at the center of the crisis that rocked GAM, headquartered in Zurich, for the past 12 months.
Greensill's relationship with GAM's portfolio manager, Tim Haywood, and his investment in illiquid badets from Greensill, including GFG bonds, have been at the heart of Haywood's allegations of misconduct investigations.
As reported by Financial News In May, GAM's investigation was to determine whether there was a risk of conflict of interest in Haywood's investments; Has his relationship with Greensill violated the company's policy regarding gifts and hospitality? and whether Greensill's badets were valued appropriately, according to the documentation FN.
GAM suspended Haywood in July 2018 and was fired in February. He disputes his dismissal. The turmoil following the suspension of the senior manager resulted in a sharp decline in GAM's badets under management, a sharp decline in the company's share price and the departure of several senior executives.
LILY Assets plunge 90% into GAM-Greensill fund
Last August, GAM announced its intention to liquidate the Absolute Return Bond Funds managed by Haywood and to return money to investors. This process was to be completed in March, but was delayed as GAM had not found a buyer for all GFG badets sourced from Greensill. The liquidation is expected to end this month.
According to a register of shares seen by FNGupta held shares in Greensill from August 19, 2016 to December 28, 2016.
A Greensill spokesperson confirmed that Gupta was a shareholder of the company for several months and that he had agreed to surrender all of his interest in Greensill's application. "As GFG's work grew for Greensill, it was considered better for him to resell his participation to the founders so that the company could remain impartial," the spokesman said.
A spokesman for GFG said Gupta had sold its shares "over the counter" before the bond financing agreement.
A spokesman for Haywood said that he knew that Gupta was an investor in Greensill and that he was considering selling his stake. However, two people familiar with the matter stated that GAM's senior management was unaware of Gupta's previous involvement in Greensill at the time Haywood had invested.
Greensill was created in 2011 by banker Lex Greensill. The firm includes former GAM President and CEO David Solo as a member of the Board of Directors and Senior Advisor. Solo, who has a long-standing relationship with Haywood, is also an investor in Greensill and was part of a group of wealthy board members who provided the company with approximately $ 90 million in related party loans that were largely reimbursed in 2016.
Greensill, which counts former British Prime Minister David Cameron's advisor as a paid adviser, is one of the leading finance companies in the supply chain, a growing but broadly growing financial sector segment. not regulated. Last summer, US private equity firm General Atlantic invested $ 250 million in Greensill. And last month, Greensill said the SoftBank Vision Fund had agreed to invest $ 800 million in a mix of common stocks and convertible bonds.
To contact the author of this story with comments or news, send an email to David Ricketts
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