Credit Suisse has signed an agreement to acquire a majority interest in Hedging-Griffo, an asset management and private banking company in Brazil for CHF 358 million in cash (US$ 294 million/BRL 635 million).
The Swiss bank says the acquisition is in line with its strategy of adding significant scale to its onshore wealth management businesses, and its status as the premier investment bank in Brazil.
Credit Suisse will acquire a 50 per cent stake in Hedging-Griffo, plus one share, which corresponds to approximately 9.5x current year earnings.
Under the terms of the transaction, the parties have entered into an option arrangement whereby Credit Suisse may acquire, and the current shareholders may sell, the remaining stake in Hedging-Griffo after five years.