UBS sued by Credit Suisse investor arguing price was too low
A CREDIT Suisse shareholder is suing UBS Group for at least 1.06 million francs (S$1.58 million), claiming he was short-changed by the bank’s government-brokered takeover of its stricken rival.
The investor claims UBS was unfairly able to snap up the shares for a bargain 0.76 Swiss francs apiece – far below the closing price of 1.86 Swiss francs on Mar 17, the last trading day before the deal was agreed.
“In a takeover, the shares normally command a high premium,” lawyer Dimitri Santoro wrote on behalf of his client. Offering shareholders less than the then-current stock price went against all the conventions of takeovers and ignores Credit Suisse’s broader value, he said.
He had submitted the complaint to the Zurich Commercial Court on behalf of an investor whose name was redacted in the copy seen by Bloomberg News. A spokesperson for the court did not immediately reply to say whether the complaint has been received or evaluated.
Swiss government officials have said Credit Suisse would have gone bankrupt the next day without a rescue and that a deal for UBS to buy its rival was the least-bad option.
If the complaint makes headway, it could embolden other shareholders to come forward, adding to mounting legal headaches for UBS. At least 230 claims representing some 2,500 aggrieved bondholders have been filed in Switzerland since March over the controversial write-down of a class of bonds known as AT1s that was part of the rescue package.
Spokespeople for UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment on the complaint, first reported on Sunday by SonntagsZeitung.
Santoro says the amount of compensation his client sought is based on the discrepancy multiplied by the number of shares he owns. UBS had said it expects to close the deal at the end of May at the earliest, though that timetable is likely being pushed into June. UBS and the Swiss government are haggling over the precise terms of a state guarantee for the deal. BLOOMBERG
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