Benzinga -
- Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS) has agreed to buy Michael Klein's investment banking boutique for the purchase price is $175 million, with the full consideration valued at $210 million, to take over The Klein Group.
- The seller will receive equity in CS First Boston as a convertible note.
- In addition, Michael Klein has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Banking and CEO of the Americas and designated CEO of CS First Boston, Credit Suisse's split off its investment bank into an independent capital market & advisory bank.
- "This is a very fair price," Credit Suisse CEO Ulrich Koerner said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday. "This is 100% the right deal at the right price, and there is no conflict of interest."
- Bloomberg reported that Credit Suisse cut the headcount of the CS First Boston business by 20% in Q4.
- Related: Qatar Investment Doubles Its Stake In Credit Suisse As US Investors Offload Theirs.
- Credit Suisse said it had secured $500 million from an unnamed investor last year. Chairman Axel Lehmann said in December that a few offers were ongoing to help finance CS First Boston's leveraged-finance business.
- Most recently, Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO) was looking to buy a stake in Credit Suisse's revamped investment bank.
- Reporting for Q4, Credit Suisse posted a CHF 1.4 billion loss. Revenue slid 33% to CH 3.1 billion on a 74% decline in investment bank business, and wealth management revenue fell 17%. Asset management's sales fell 28%.
- Customers withdrew CHF 110.5 billion from the group in Q4, with two-thirds of the outflows coming in October when rumors hit the bank on social media about its financial health. The wealth management business accounted for CHF 92.7 billion of the outflows in the quarter.
- By "2024 I think we should be profitable," CEO Ulrich Koerner said in an interview with Bloomberg Television's Francine Lacqua. "2023 will be a transformative year, and then we get better and better," he said.
- Price Action: CS shares are down 7.01% at $3.23 during the premarket session on the last check Thursday.