Swiss bank Edmond de Rothschild is to be privatised, according to plans announced by chairman Benjamin de Rothschild on March 13.
The Rothschild family, which already owns a majority stake in the bank, has offered CHF 17,945 (€15,792) for each bearer share, or CHF 15,500 (€13,641) after proposed dividends have been deducted. The bank is expected to be delisted from the SIX Swiss Exchange at the end of Q3 2019, according to Swiss publication Bilan.
Under the plans, all international Edmond de Rothschild operations will be consolidated under the Swiss group, which will become the operative holding company
In a statement announcing the move, Benjamin de Rothschild said: “By taking [Edmond de Rothschild] private, we are demonstrating our commitment to our banking group and our ambitions for growth, both organic and through acquisitions.”
Under the plans, all international Edmond de Rothschild operations will be consolidated under the Swiss group, which will become the operative holding company. All shares in the bank’s French operations, meanwhile, will be transferred across at a market value of CHF 542.3m (€477.3m).
Edmond de Rothschild established the eponymous bank in Paris in 1953. A Geneva-based private banking subsidiary followed in 1965, with branches in Luxembourg set up three years later.
Benjamin de Rothschild became chairman of the banking group in 1997 following the death of his father, Edmond. Benjamin’s wife, Ariane, is currently president of the bank’s executive committee.
Today, Edmond de Rothschild has around CHF 170bn (€149.6bn) in assets under management and revenues of CHF 1.1bn (€968.1m). Rothschild’s announcement proved popular with the markets, seeing shares rise by 8.5 percent from March 12’s closing price.