The Swiss private bank is adding two new shareholders, untethering from a German anchor shareholder. The move means a name change for the Swiss wealth manager.
Bergos Berenberg's shareholders will include Hendrik de Waal and Hans-Wilhelm Jenckel from next month, the Swiss private bank said in an emailed statement on Thursday. The two businessmen are buying the bulk of a 19.9 percent stake that is held by Hamburg-based Berenberg, with the remainder going to new shareholders at year-end.
Bergos Berenberg is among a crop of «boutique»-style smaller players such as Qatar-controlled Quintet and Oddo BHF trying their luck in Switzerland. The bank was taken over two years ago by a group of wealthy Swiss entrepreneurs and management around CEO Peter Raskin.
Untethering From Anchor
Existing investors Sylvie Mutschler-von Specht and Claus Budelmann and their families are also ramping up their stakes in Bergos Berenberg. The changes mean the Swiss wealth manager untethers fully from Berenberg, a 430-year-old German merchant bank.
As a result, the Swiss bank will shorten its name to simply Bergos, effective January 1. It said it will continue to work closely with the German institute on the basis of a cooperation agreement.
