Trading Firm Sues Barclays For $110 Million; Bank Says Claim Without Merit

Tom Burroughes

5 December 2011

Barclays faces an €82 million lawsuit in London as CF Partners, the UK-based trading and advisory firm, claims the bank misused confidential information from a potential client to clinch the takeover of a Swedish carbon trading company last year, according to the Financial Times.

CF Partners alleged it went to Barclays in September 2008 to see if the bank could offer financing for a transaction with Stockholm-based Tricorona.

When the deal stalled, Barclays used the work CF had done on the value of Tricorona's carbon credits to pursue its own deal with the Swedish firm almost two years later, the newspaper reported, citing CF Partners as claiming in a lawsuit filed with the High Court last month.

Barclays said the claim was “without merit” in an email sent to WealthBriefing yesterday. It said it will vigorously contest the matter.

The claim, as reported by the FT, said: "CF Partners provided Barclays with a single, composite piece of information, namely the fact that Tricorona was an attractive and available takeover/purchase prospect."