Shareholders of Bank Sarasin & Cie, a 161-year-old Swiss private bank that caters to wealthy clients, have agreed the sale of a 28 percent stake to Rabobank. Agreement on the purchase was announced on March 4. The deal gives Rabobank the option to buy control of Sarasin within seven years from itsten partners, who now hold 63 percent of the voting rights.
Sarasin has said that it wants to double its assets under management to around 100 billion francs ($64 billion) within five to seven years from about 40 billion francs today.