Swiss private bank Julius Baer has acquired Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s wealth management business outside the United States and Japan.
The cash-and-share deal is worth about 860 million Swiss francs (€716 million), or 1.2% of the 72 billion Swiss francs of assets expected to be transferred, and will increase Julius Baer’s assets under management by 40% to 251 billion Swiss francs.
Julius Baer said it will put 530 million Swiss francs of existing capital towards the purchase and raise 750 million Swiss francs in a rights issue. The extra money will help fund restructuring and integration as well as increase regulatory capital.
“This transaction represents a rare opportunity to acquire an international pure-play wealth management business of significant size and will add substantial scale to our business in Europe and in key growth markets in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East,” said Daniel J Sauter, chairman of Julius Baer.
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