Credit Suisse is to sell its CHF16bn ($17bn) exchange-traded fund (ETF) business to American asset manager BlackRock.
The deal, expected to be completed by June 2013 and subject to regulatory approval, is in line with the Swiss bank’s divestment strategy.The cost of the transaction has not been disclosed yet.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
BlackRock is the largest ETF provider in Europe, with 202 European iShares ETFs representing $139.6bn in assets under management (AUM) as of 31 December.
"An iShares acquisition of the Credit Suisse ETF business would give iShares a dominant position of 47.5% market share in the European ETF industry based on ETFGI year-end data," Deborah Furh, a partner at London-based ETF research firm ETFGI, told PBI.
ETFGI estimated that after the proposed acquisition BlackRock would control $157bn in AUM.
"Credit Suisse will remain a large investor of ETFs through our private banking and wealth management division and will partner closely with BlackRock to broaden the ETF product offering for our clients. We believe that BlackRock is well positioned to realise the long-term value of our ETF business," says Martin Keller, Credit Suisse’s head of distribution for core investments.
BlackRock is one of the leading providers of ETFs through its iShares franchise and has $3.7trn of AUM worldwide. The acquisition will reinforce its presence in Europe and Switzerland since it took over Swiss Re private equity business in September 2012.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData
