Züricher Kantonalbank has agreed to acquire asset manager Swisscanto for CHF360m (€299m).
The bank confirmed in October that it was in talks with 23 other cantonal banks to buy their stakes in the company, which manages CHF53bn in assets.
According to a survey of Swiss institutional asset managers published in the current issue of IPE, it managed €23.7bn worth of assets for local pension funds.
The bank hopes to complete the transaction, which will see it buy the remaining 81.9% stake in Swisscanto, by early next year, with the deal also covering Swisscanto’s pensions business.
Hans Frey, currently head of corporate services at Swisscanto Asset Management, has been promoted to chief executive.
Current group chief executive Gérard Fischer and its head of asset management and CIO Peter Bänziger are to depart the company, according to a joint statement by the companies.
The four remaining executive board members will remain, with minor changes to their responsibilities.
Martin Scholl, chief executive at Züricher Kantonalbank, said: “Together with the staff of Swisscanto Group, we are doing our utmost to ensure the cantonal banks remain highly successful in the investment, asset management and pension business.
“We intend to position the Swisscanto product brand even more strongly in the future and work even more closely with the cantonal banks.”
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