From Beef to Investment Banking: Leucadia National is shifting its focus to investment bank Jefferies

“The randomness of the businesses probably prevented a lot of potential investors from sharpening their pencils”

Leucadia National Corp., the holding company with stakes in Jefferies, The National Beef Packing Company, and various other "random" companies, is looking to be more competitive on Wall Street:

Leucadia National Corporation, the oil-to-beef conglomerate that owns the investment bank Jefferies, announced a plan to sell $1.3bn of its non-finance industry assets as it seeks to make the most of a broad revival on Wall Street.

The company will also rename itself Jefferies Financial Group, to reflect its greater focus and the change from being what Rich Handler, its chief executive, called “a relatively random” collection of assets.

With a better sense of direction and a whole bunch of cash ($2.8 billion), the company now plans for a better future that combines its investment and merchant banking functions without turning away potential investors.

Where do you see this going? What are your thoughts on combining PE and IB?

Do you think this will allow Jefferies to improve its reputation on the Street?

Other thoughts?

Sources: Bloomberg, FT

Photograph by Brian Jannsen/Alamy, Bloomberg