A consortium of hedge funds has called for the break-up of RHJ International (RHJI), the Belgium-based owner of private bank Kleinwort Benson.
The consortium has 4% shareholdings in the bank and is led by Equilibria Capital Management from Geneva.
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The letter, which was sent to the RHJ board, outlined a series of proposals ahead of RHJI’s annual general meeting next month, including the return of the portion of the EUR250 million held in cash by the firm and work towards a full break up.
The shareholder group has also asked RHIJ to stop any corporate activity, such as further acquisitions. One of the plans is to purchase the BHF-Bank unit of Deutshche Bank AG.
The funds said they want to see "tighter and more appropriate limits on management compensation," after RHJI chief executive Leonhard Fischer was awarded a EUR4.1 million pay package last year that included an allowance for a private plane. The perk was discontinued in August.
According to Equilibria Capital co-founder Daniel Tafur, "They focus on the core business which is Kleinwort Benson, rather than hunting another bank when they don’t have enough cash to do it on their own."
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By GlobalDataIt the second time in a little under a year that hedge fund activists have turned on RHJ.
Last May, Equilibria led calls for a special dividend payment, which prompted the firm to point out it was not in a position to perform such an act.
