UBS Chairman: Acquisition attractive for UBS, but an emergency rescue nonetheless

UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher said the acquisition of Credit Suisse is an attractive investment for the company’s shareholders, but above all it is an emergency rescue.

UBS said in an announcement on Sunday that it would acquire Credit Suisse, in a transaction that is expected to create a business with more than $5 trillion (€4.7 trillion) in total invested assets and sustainable value opportunities.

“This acquisition is attractive for UBS shareholders but, let us be clear, as far as Credit Suisse is concerned, this is an emergency rescue,” UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher is quoted saying in the announcement. “We have structured a transaction which will preserve the value left in the business while limiting our downside exposure. Acquiring Credit Suisse’s capabilities in wealth, asset management and Swiss universal banking will augment UBS’s strategy of growing its capital-light businesses. The transaction will bring benefits to clients and create long-term sustainable value for our investors.”

The deal, said UBS, is expected to further strengthen its position as the leading Swiss-based global wealth manager with more than $3.4 trillion (€3.2 trillion) in invested assets on a combined basis, operating in the most attractive growth markets. “The transaction reinforces UBS’s position as the leading universal bank in Switzerland. The combined businesses will be a leading asset manager in Europe, with invested assets of more than $1.5 trillion (€1.4tr),” the announcement said.

UBS Chief Executive Officer Ralph Hamers said that bringing UBS and Credit Suisse together will build on UBS’ strengths and further enhance its ability to serve its clients globally and deepen its “best-in-class capabilities”. He added, “The combination supports our growth ambitions in the Americas and Asia while adding scale to our business in Europe, and we look forward to welcoming our new clients and colleagues across the world in the coming weeks”.

According to UBS’ announcement, under the terms of the all-share transaction, Credit Suisse shareholders will receive 1 UBS share for every 22.48 Credit Suisse shares held, equivalent to CHF 0.76 (€0.77)/share for a total consideration of CHF 3 billion (€3.03b). UBS benefits from €25.3 of downside protection from the transaction to support marks, purchase price adjustments and restructuring costs, and additional 50% downside protection on non-core assets. Both banks have unrestricted access to the Swiss National Bank existing facilities, through which they can obtain liquidity from the SNB in accordance with the guidelines on monetary policy instruments.

The combination of the two businesses is expected to generate annual run-rate of cost reductions of more than $8 billion (€7.5b) by 2027. UBS Investment Bank will reinforce its global competitive position with institutional, corporate and wealth management clients through the acceleration of strategic goals in Global Banking while managing down the rest of Credit Suisse’s Investment Bank. The combined investment banking businesses accounts for approximately 25% of Group risk weighted assets.

UBS anticipates that the transaction is EPS accretive by 2027 and the bank remains capitalized well above its target of 13%.

Colm Kelleher will be Chairman and Ralph Hamers will be Group CEO of the combined entity. The transaction is not subject to shareholder approval. UBS has obtained pre-agreement from FINMA, Swiss

National Bank, Swiss Federal Department of Finance and other core regulators on the timely approval of the transaction.