LONDON – A UK court has ruled that Canada’s Barrick Gold must pay $2 million plus expenses to British dealmaker Ian Hannam’s firm, Hannam & Partners, for its role in facilitating Barrick’s 2018 acquisition of Randgold Resources.
Hannam, a former top JPMorgan banker known as the “king of mining” for brokering major resource sector deals, including the 2001 BHP Billiton merger and the 2012 Glencore-Xstrata merger, sued Barrick over an alleged agreement tied to the acquisition.
Hannam & Partners claimed it was promised a minimum of $10 million, with the fee increasing if the deal exceeded $10 billion. When the Randgold acquisition ultimately reached around $18 billion, the firm sought an $18 million payment but was denied.
Barrick contested the claim, arguing that no written contract existed and that Hannam & Partners was not entitled to any compensation.
In his ruling, Judge Simon Gleeson stated that while “no contract to provide investment advisory services was ever made,” Hannam & Partners’ early efforts in promoting the deal provided “a valuable benefit” to both Barrick and Randgold. Recognizing this contribution, the companies had intended to compensate the firm, with Randgold initially proposing a $2 million fee in September 2018.
As a result, the court awarded Hannam & Partners $2 million plus expenses.
Neil Passmore, CEO of Hannam & Partners, called the ruling “a seminal judgment for the investment banking industry,” emphasizing that a significant fee was awarded despite the absence of a formal contract.
Barrick also viewed the decision as a favorable outcome, noting that the court upheld the original amount Randgold had proposed for Hannam & Partners’ limited involvement in the transaction.