16 October 2013 I Deals and Cases

Acquisition of Banque Safdié by Bank Leumi

Bank Leumi signed an agreement with the owners of Banque Safdié, a privately held Swiss private bank in Geneva, according to which it will acquire the entire share capital of the bank. The basic consideration (before adjustments) will be composed of the Net Asset Value of the bank being acquired plus a multiple of the banks's assets under management at closing, such that the total consideration is estimated at CHF 177 million, based on the bank's current figures.

Bank Leumi plans to combine the private banking activities of Bank Leumi Switzerland and those of Banque Safdié under one roof, which will strengthen Bank Leumi Switzerland with assets under management of ca. CHF 10 billion. Bank Leumi is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and is one of the largest banking groups in Israel.

Bär & Karrer acted as Swiss legal advisor to Bank Leumi. Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisor, Kantor, Elhanani, Tal & Co as Israeli legal advisor and by the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. The core Bär & Karrer team included Eric Stupp, Rashid Bahar and Harald Zeiter.

Team involved