Swiss authorities agreed to change the country's regulations to bypass the shareholder vote and announced the deal over the weekend.
UBS Group agreed to buy ailing rival Credit Suisse for $3.25 billion on March 19 as part of an "emergency order" to prevent instability in financial markets .
UBS has agreed to buy Credit Suisse for more than $2 billion, the Financial Times reported earlier, citing an insider. However, UBS's latest statement revealed that the total consideration for the deal is about 3 billion CHF, or $3.25 billion. That's still a significant bargain compared to Credit Suisse's March 17 market cap of 7.5 billion francs, or about $8 billion .
“This acquisition is attractive to UBS shareholders. But let's be clear about Credit Suisse. It is a "lifebouy". We have structured a transaction that preserves the remaining value in the business while limiting our negative exposure”
said Colm Kelleher, President of UBS.
To seal the deal, Swiss authorities agreed to amend the country's regulations to bypass a shareholder vote and announced the deal over the weekend before the market opened.
As part of the deal, the Swiss National Bank also committed to providing UBS with more than $100 billion in liquidity, according to reports.
The discussions were jointly initiated by the Swiss Federal Ministry of Finance, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and the Swiss National Bank, and the acquisition is fully supported, UBS said in a statement.
UBS was not the only solution
Swiss authorities were considering alternatives to Credit Suisse in case the deal with UBS falls through over the weekend, including nationalizing the bank in whole or in part as an emergency solution.
Credit Suisse's rescue plan would also include losses for bondholders, raising concerns among European regulators. According to them, this would undermine investor confidence in the European financial sector.
UBS and Credit Suisse have been in talks with regulators since March 15, after Credit Suisse's largest shareholder, the National Bank of Saudi Arabia, said it would not increase its investment in the Swiss bank due to regulations . The comments added to concerns about the bank's ability to generate profits, sparking fears about a possible shareholder financing.
Credit Suisse was founded in 1856 to finance the expansion of the Swiss railways. It was considered the second largest bank in the country.
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