Brazil’s Safra Group has bought the
controlling stake in Switzerland’s Bank Sarasin from Rabobank, the
fee is understood to be about CHF1bn ($1.09bn).
Market rumours had suggested growth-focused
Swiss bank Julius Baer was a front-runner to buy the majority stake
in Sarasin that gives Safra a 46% equity interest and 69% voting
rights.
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Brazil’s Safra Group, which agreed to pay
CHF36 for Sarasin’s B shares and CHF7.20 per A-registered share,
runs private banking operations and Safra Wealth Management, a
multi family office, in the Americas and Europe.
Mutual benefits
The buy-out will see Safra strengthen its
private banking presence in Switzerland and Europe, and will add
Middle East and Asia to the bank’s markets.
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By GlobalDataSarasin will also benefit from additional
distribution channels for its products, as well as access to Latin
America, where it previously did not have representation.
In the past few years, Bank Sarasin has
unveiled bold international growth plans, as it shifts its client
asset base from Switzerland and Europe towards emerging markets in
Asia and the Middle East.
Sarasin’s international
ambitions
This international segment at Bank Sarasin now
accounts for about 35% of the bank’s total private banking assets
under management (AuM), which came to CHF46.5bn in the year to
December 2010 – an 8% increase on 2009.
Safra said it intends to keep Bank Sarasin
listed after closing of the acquisition, which is subject to
regulatory approval.
