Cazenove valuation ready

UBS, the investment bank, is believed to be ready to present bosses at JP Morgan with a valuation of Cazenove, the blue-blooded bank with which it enjoys a 50-50 joint venture called JPMorgan Cazenove. Both Cazenove and JP Morgan Cazenove are led by chairman David Mayhew.

The Swiss bank was appointed to conduct a valuation to enable the US bank to make an offer to purchase Cazenove's stake in February, in effect buying out the smaller bank.

"UBS is ready to present it's valuation and there's no doubt that the Cazenove boys are going to be a happy bunch," said a source.

JPMorgan Cazenove has enjoyed a stellar 2009, working on some of the biggest rights issues of the year including HSBC's £12bn raising in the spring. The group is also set to be involved in Lloyds Banking Group's likely rights issue expected before Christmas, which could be as big as £16bn.

In March, JPMorgan Cazenove posted pre-tax profits of £134.5m for 2008, 15 per cent down on the previous year.