ABN Amro itself was purchased by Royal Bank of Scotland in 2007, before the business was sold on to the Jefferies Group, becoming their corporate broking arm in 2012.
[10] The firm were behind large share issues for Canadian Eagle Oil, Rootes Group, Anglo-Iranian, Dunlop, P&O, Esso and were part of the denationalisation of the British steel industry.
[27][28] In 1982, with Hoare Govett run by Mike Soden,[29] Security Pacific bought a 29.9% stake in the business for £8.1 million, with the funds received being split between new investments and bonus for the company's partners.
Called the Big Bang, Hoare Govett, along with fellow brokers Cazenove and Rowe & Pitman, set up for 24 hour trading.
[34] Hoare Govett purchased and then sold on 14 million Guinness held shares in BP in the same year,[35] and was chosen by the UK government to help prepare for the sale of the ten water companies as part of privatisation of the market.
[41][42][43] Hoare Govett's Asian business and Barclays Bank set up a joint venture investment management company in Hong Kong in 1988.
[49][50] The Asian arm of the business, Hoare Govett Asia, was purchased by the management team with assistance from the Guoco group.
[51] In 1992 ABN Amro purchased the firm from Security Pacific for an undisclosed price, though widely reportedly as £25 million;[52] shortly after, however, they lost several clients including RTZ Corporation and Henlys Group.
[53] The firm was the lead broker for the UK government's privatisation of Northern Ireland Electricity,[54] and the public listing of the former commercial arm of the Milk Marketing Board, which was named Dairy Crest.
[55] The firm, now renamed ABN Amro Hoare Govett, recovered from those early loses, gaining Glaxo in 1995 from S.G. Warburg,[56] and started the purchase back of its former Asian business, now called HG Asia, firstly acquiring a 20% share in 1994, followed by a further 40% in 1996.
[57][58] During 1996, it assisted the UK government with share sales in both British Energy and Railtrack, while in 1997 it gained both the clients Sainsbury's and Centrica.
[68] In October 2007, Royal Bank of Scotland, along with bid partners Fortis Group and Banco Santander purchased ABN Amro for £48.5 million.
[70][71][72] In 2011, it was reported that RBS were either planning to sell or close down Hoare Govett, with various companies linked with purchasing the business including Oriel Securities, ICAP and RBC Royal.
[75] In March 2012, it was announced that the RBS Asian business, the former Hoare Govett Asia firm, had been sold to CIMB Group Holdings, except for its Hong Kong office which was closed.