UBS Wins Lawsuit Filed by Gupta’s Decura Over Hedge-Fund Venture
(Bloomberg) — UBS Group AG won a London lawsuit filed by an asset management firm that said that investment banking cuts at the Swiss lender undermined a joint venture.
Judge Michael Burton dismissed the claim in a ruling in London on Friday. Decura IM Investments LLP, founded by ex- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner Vishal Gupta, was seeking as much as $167 million over the disputed hedge fund venture.
During a trial last year, Decura argued that cuts at the bank damaged its ability to market Decura products. UBS, Switzerland’s biggest lender, has cut about 4,000 jobs since late 2012 and is exiting most debt-trading activities while focusing on its wealth management business.
Burton said in the ruling that he wasn’t satisfied that the cuts hindered UBS’s ability to market Decura’s products.
After the ruling, Zurich-based UBS said in a statement that it reached an agreement with Decura to terminate their relationship.
“The findings confirm that the strategic repositioning of the bank did not have an adverse effect on UBS’ ability to market Decura’s products,” the bank said.
Decura Group was founded in 2012 by Gupta, who previously worked at Goldman Sachs in a variety of roles including head of credit and equity exotics and fund derivatives.
Sue Prevezer, a lawyer for Decura, confirmed the parties have agreed to resolve their differences by agreeing to a termination of the agreement. She declined to comment further.
The case is Decura Im Investments LLP & Ors v UBS AG London Branch, High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division Commercial Court, 14-561
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Gerlin in London at agerlin@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net Elisa Martinuzzi
