The mining industry is one of Canada's most important economic sectors through its involvement with creating jobs for residents. The industry is ever-expanding, with new opportunities arising daily. Entrepreneur Stan Bharti took notice of that back in the '90s and has founded and scaled his international merchant bank and finance house specializing in natural resources, Forbes & Manhattan.
Born in India's Punjab region, Mr. Bharti received a scholarship after high school, which resulted in him moving to Moscow, Russia. He attended the Peoples' Friendship University, where he obtained a master's degree in engineering, before moving to England and getting a second master's degree from the University of London. Following his graduation, Mr. Bharti moved to Africa to work for a short period before settling down in Canada.
Upon moving to Canada, Mr. Bharti joined a major international mining company named Falconbridge Ltd, now known as Glencore, and quickly became a senior executive. Though working for the company allowed him to expand his skills and set himself up within the industry, Mr. Bharti chose to start his own company in 1988, setting up an international consulting firm named Bharti Laamanen Mining (BLM) Inc., which specialized in mine development and turnaround situations.
Years later, in 1995, Mr. Bharti decided to step away from the company to turn his attention to his new business, an international merchant bank, and finance house called Forbes & Manhattan. The company focuses on natural resources, infrastructure, energy, and technology, while also seeking out high-potential mining assets that they take from exploration and discovery before sending them off to production.
The difference between Forbes & Manhattan and other companies is that they employ technical expertise to scale their companies over the course of three to five years, as opposed to quickly flipping them. This practice has brought the company a vast amount of success since its creation and is a perfect example of how Mr. Bharti uses unique methods for running his company.
These methods have helped Forbes & Manhattan build up a long list of accomplishments, with their most notable occurring in May of 2011. Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines began as a $1 million company, but after Forbes & Manhattan got involved in developing things further, they sold the company to Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. for $4.9 billion in cash.
Mr. Bharti has flipped multiple other businesses, including Desert Sun Mining, after obtaining a controlling position within the company in 2002. While in that position, he developed the Jacobina Mine, one of the largest gold mines in Brazil, to near-production before selling it to Yamana Gold a few years later for $735 million. His most recent company flip was selling Avion Gold Corp. to Endeavour Mining for $389 million in 2012.
With a tracklist like that, it's clear that Forbes & Manhattan dominates the industry. The skills it requires to scale a business to those heights aren't quickly
learned, showing that Mr. Bharti and his team are experts at what they do. To learn more about the company and stay up to date on their projects, you can
head over to their website, ForbesManhattan.com, or Instagram, @ForbesManhattanA.
