Julius Baer cemented its hold over an Italian asset manager. The move reverses an earlier stance to publicly list a minority stake.
The Swiss private bank said on Tuesday that it will up close out its ownership of Milan-based Kairos, a wealth and asset manager, to 100 percent from 80 percent currently. Julius Baer said this will cost roughly 96 million euros, subject to closing terms.
The Zurich-based bank has taken over Kairos in stages: when it lifted its stake to 80 percent, the bank said it intended to list the minority «when market conditions permit and subject to regulatory approval.» On Tuesday, the bank made no further reference to this. A spokesman said that a partial IPO for Kairos «remains an option».
Stand-In CEO Moves
The wealth manager is, like until recently WMPartners, managed independently of Zurich, and has its own management under founder Paolo Basilico, and brand. Kairos' assets under management swelled to 11 billion last year, nearly three-fold from 4 billion four years ago.
The purchase, which is peanuts in comparison to some of Julius Baer's major deals in recent years including its acquisition of Merrill Lynch's wealth arm outside the U.S., is the first move from new Chief Executive Bernhard Hodler.
The former risk chief was parachuted into the top job overnight last month, when Julius Baer was blindsided by the defection of its long-standing CEO, Boris Collardi, for rival Pictet. The 58-year-old Hodler is seen as a mid-term solution for Julius Baer, at best, as finews.com reported.
Mixed European Bag
For Julius Baer, Kairos represents a much-needed boost in Europe, which continues to lag the more vibrant growth in hot spots such as Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. In Germany, for example Julius Baer still hasn't managed to turn a profit after years of pouring money into the market.
Kairos, the bank said, is its gateway into Italy, one of Europe's largest wealth markets after Germany and alongside France, the U.K., and Spain. Current Kairos CEO Paolo Basilico, a former Warburg banker, will add the chairman job to his job title.
