Sanjeev Gupta’s loyal lieutenant Jay Hambro to quit GFG Alliance

The metal baron Sanjeev Gupta owned GFG Alliance’s Chief Investment Officer and also one of the most loyal lieutenants is quitting the group following falling out with his boss over the sale of its aluminium assets.

A scion of a Danish merchant banking family, Jay Hambro, whose connections supported untroubled growth and rapid acquisition of Gupta’s splurge over the past five years, is on “gardening leave” and no longer taking an active role at the group, as confirmed by an industry professional very much familiar with the matter.

The informing person forewarned that Hambro had not yet backed out himself from GFG, but it is implausible that he would remain there in the long term.

Hambro, the former banker is recognized to have fallen out with Sanjeev Gupta over the sale of, GFG’s French and Belgian assets, Alvance Aluminium.

As Hambro seconded a proposal from US private equity group American Industrial Partners (AIP) to purchase the business, Gupta was desirous to pursue a deal with Glencore to refinance its debt and thereby preserve his control.

According to company filings this month, Jay Hambro has already evacuated his position from the board of Wyelands Bank, whose acquisition was one of the first deals he did for GFG.

However, GFG Alliance refused to comment on Hambro’s departure.

The imminent departure of one of his closest companions is a big blow to Sanjeev Gupta, who has been struggling to bail out his metals empire since the collapse of Greensill Capital in March 2021, GFG’s principal lender and the ensuing launch of an investigation by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office.

Gupta secured an amnesty from lenders, including Credit Suisse, over unpaid debts last month. Credit Suisse, which is pursuing him for $1.2 billion owed to its group of supply-chain finance funds, agreed to delay legal action to force some of Gupta’s companies out of business to September.

The drive has delivered the metal tycoon breathing space to complete the refinancing of his operations.

The GFG owner Sanjeev Gupta also counters a battle with AIP over the European aluminium assets. The US group is the creditor to the Belgian rolling mill in Duffel and recently took legal action in the UK to seize control of the unit.

In 2021, the American equity firm AIP purchased all of the Duffel plant’s debt and a portion of the debt at its French aluminium smelter in Dunkirk, while approaching Gupta with an offer to buy the two assets.

Gupta delivered a memo to senior management in July 2021with a confirmation that the group has declined AIP’s bid for the two assets, while further added that GFG was “targeting an amicable settlement of their debts using the facilities agreed with Glencore”.

The Anglo-Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company, Glencore has proposed to refinance some of the more than $500 million of debt at both the Duffel site and its aluminium smelter in Dunkirk with a new six-year loan.