Leonteq co-founder Jan Schoch is severing his ties with the Swiss derivatives boutique. Two associates have snapped up part of his stake.

Jan Schoch, who co-founded Leonteq ten years ago and served as CEO until earlier this month, is selling down his entire stake in the Zurich-based derivatives fintech, the firm said in a statement on Friday.

Schoch, who side projects such as digital bank Flynt were reportedly a source of tension with Leonteq's board, is selling down his entire stake in the firm. The holding – 6.61 percent of the firm, or 1.05 million shares  – was placed in the market at 60.50 Swiss francs per share. The stock closed at 64.10 on Wednesday.

The bulk of the stake, or 946,527 shares, was bought by various institutional investors. Two of Schoch's co-founders, Lukas Ruflin and Sandro Dorigo, snapped up 82,000 and 25,000 shares, respectively. Ruflin is vice-chairman of Leonteq's board and Dorigo runs its pension solutions arm.

Shareholder Shuffle

Schoch had a backstop agreement with Ruflin and Dorigo to sell at 56 per share, but elected to seek a market sale, according to the company. After Schoch's exit, the firm's biggest shareholders are as follows:

  • Raiffeisen Bank, with 4,626,397 shares, or 29.02 percent
  • Lukas Ruflin and his family holding, with 1,283,762 shares, or 8.05 percent
  • Sandro Dorigo, with 390,082 shares, or 2.45 percent