Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has appointed Tim Kerry from Barclays Plc as it strengthens its team in anticipation of an increase in M&A-related financing activities. Kerry will serve as co-head of EMEA leveraged finance, collaborating with Bala Ramesh, who also leads EMEA debt capital markets within fixed income. This information comes from sources who requested anonymity due to the private nature of the matter. Representatives from both Jefferies and Barclays declined to comment.
Additionally, Jefferies has recently recruited Arnaud Collas from Citigroup Inc. to take on the role of managing director in EMEA leveraged finance. Citigroup’s spokesperson did not provide comments, and attempts to reach Kerry and Collas for their input were unsuccessful.
After a prolonged period of subdued activity, acquisition-related financing is beginning to rise, prompting banks to prepare for more lucrative deals in investment banking. For instance, Jefferies is among the lenders involved in arranging approximately €900 million ($938 million) in loans for the acquisition of Dutch generic drugmaker Synthon International Holding BV. Furthermore, Jefferies is advising private equity firm EQT AB on the potential sale of Swedish consumer-health company Karo Healthcare, with bankers preparing debt packages of around €1 billion for prospective bidders.
At Barclays, Kerry previously managed EMEA leveraged finance origination and spent ten years in leveraged finance roles at HSBC Holdings Plc. Barclays has experienced several high-profile departures, including Kartik Subramanian-Nair, who joined Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in November, and Stephen Smith, who left for John Aylward’s credit hedge fund Sona in 2023. Recently, Barclays hired Bjorn Andersen, a leveraged loan and high-yield bond banker from Nordea, to work alongside Anastasia Chernetskaya, who joined as a director from Deutsche Bank AG.
