EANS-Adhoc: Bank Sarasin & Co. Ltd plans to acquire majority stake in NZB Holding
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Basel - Bank Sarasin & Co. Ltd intends to acquire the majority stake in NZB Holding domiciled in Zurich, subject to due diligence and also the approval of the relevant authorities and the existing NZB shareholders. In 2007 Bank Sarasin sold its Swiss brokerage business to NZB Neue Zuercher Bank AG, and since then has owned a 40% stake in NZB Neue Zuercher Bank AG through NZB Holding. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
Following a decision to focus on its core business as a private bank, Bank Sarasin & Co. Ltd sold parts of its brokerage activities to NZB Neue Zuercher Bank on 15 February 2007. After this transaction, Sarasin held a 40% financial stake in the existing share capital of NZB Holding domiciled in Zurich. Bank Sarasin´s participation in NZB Holding was purely of a financial nature. Both banks operated completely separately from one another. NZB Neue Zuercher Bank has worked with Bank Sarasin as a preferred partner for brokerage services.
The planned acquisition of the majority stake in NZB Holding (likely to be in the region of 51% to 60%) was in response to personnel changes in NZB and the latest decisions by the Swiss regulator FINMA in connection with the investigations in the Sulzer affair. The purpose of the acquisition is to boost the confidence of staff and clients in NZB. Bank Sarasin plans to focus the business activity of NZB Neue Zuercher Bank consistently on its brokerage operations. NZB will withdraw from the private banking business.
Further inquiry note:
Benedikt Gratzl
Head of Corporate Communications
Tel +41 61 277 70 88
annette.kuhnert@sarasin.ch
Branche: Banking
ISIN: CH0002267737
WKN: 872869
Index: SPI
Börsen: SIX Swiss Exchange / regulated dealing