Marc Benton joins Barclays as head of regional oil and gas group

Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays Bank, yesterday announced that it has hired Marc Benton as a managing director and head of its oil and gas group. Benton spent more than 10 years with Citi before he left earlier this year to join Nomura as head of natural resources investment banking for Asia-Pacific ex-Japan.

His stint at Nomura turned out to be quite short-lived, however, and Benton left after just a few months. Insiders say uncertainty amid the ongoing integration of Lehman Brothers and differing opinions about the direction forward contributed to his early departure.

At Barclays, Benton will lead the sector coverage team and will be responsible for all investment banking transactions across the oil and gas sectors in Asia, including mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings and risk solution transactions. He will be based in Hong Kong and will report to Carlos Fierro, global head of the natural resources group, and Richard Gallivan, who is head of corporate finance for Asia-Pacific.

Benton's last job at Citi was as group head of Asia-Pacific energy, power and chemicals investment banking.

In a written comment, Matthew Ginsburg, head of investment banking Asia Pacific for Barclays Capital said the hire is an "integral part of the strategic build out of Barclays' investment banking business" in the region, which is one of Barclays Capital's key priorities this year. "Marc has an excellent track record of building businesses, having structured and closed transactions across Asia, and will significantly enhance our ability to advise our clients," he added.