Jackson falls on sword gently but UBS Qantas deal breaker Fiani makes an immediate exit.
It appears that there have been some significant disagreements with the corridors of UBS since the failed bid for Qantas by APA, in particular over the independent stance taken by UBS fund manager Paul Fiani and these are thought to be behind his sudden and sensational departure from UBS.
Mr Fiani, who along with rival investment manager Andrew Sisson at Balanced Equity Management were the key instigators in preventing the controversial takeover offer and despite strenuous denials from the bank, it is understood Mr Fiani, who had held the job as head of Australian equities for the past five years, was unhappy with the apparent conflict between the investment banking side of UBS and the role of the fund management operation.
It is believed Mr Fiani spoke with his superiors at UBS a month ago, as the Qantas bid was reaching its climax, to indicate that the interests of the two separately run divisions of the bank were colliding and that he could not see the situation getting any better and he is also thought to have told UBS he was looking to leave, after 11 years with the bank, to set up his own boutique funds management business.
Mr Fiani’s position also put him at odds with his investment banking colleagues at UBS, in particular Matthew Grounds who were advising the airline during the bid and stood to earn in the region of $100 million in fees if the offer had succeeded, but despite immense pressure within the market to alter his stance, Fiani refused to buckle during the five months bid battle, with his judgement receiving significant justification when it emerged APA was planning to strip $4 billion out of Qantas through dividends and extra payments to immediately re-coup part of their costs.
However, while Mr Sisson made his position public, his counterpart at UBS stayed in the background, refusing to comment to the media although his opposition to the bid was clear.
A report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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