Jefferies Financial Group is slimming down. Nearly a decade after it was acquired by Leucadia National, it has taken another big step towards winding down the merchant banking business it inherited from the conglomerate.
Merchant banking makes direct investments in outside companies. At Jefferies, the division accounted for about 13 per cent of total group revenue last year and the asset portfolio was worth $1.6bn as of May 31.
Under the plan announced on Tuesday, Jefferies will spin off its holdings in oil and gas company Vitesse Energy. It will also sell its wood and lumber products business, Idaho Timber, in two deals for a combined $239mn.