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 oversees 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. Based in New York, Jefferies is actively expanding its senior dealmaker roster to capture business opportunities in Europe. As part of this initiative, former Citigroup banker Simon Francis was brought on last year to lead Jefferies’ EMEA debt financing operations in a newly established position.
One notable transaction involves Jefferies being among the lenders arranging approximately €900 million ($938 million) in loans for the acquisition of Dutch generic drugmaker Synthon International Holding BV. Jefferies is also 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. Before his tenure at Barclays, he spent ten years at HSBC Holdings Plc in various leveraged finance roles. Barclays has experienced several high-profile departures, including Kartik Subramanian-Nair, who left for Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s capital markets division in London, and Stephen Smith, co-head of global leveraged finance syndicate, who joined 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.
