Eric Syz Acquires Co-Founder Stakes in His Geneva Private Bank
March 26 (Bloomberg) — Eric Syz, the majority owner of Banque Syz & Co., acquired the shares of his two co-founders, Alfredo Piacentini and Paolo Luban, and told staff he has no intention to sell the Geneva-based firm.
Eric Syz, who worked for brokerage Paine Webber Group Inc. in New York before establishing the bank in 1996, will remain chief executive officer after Piacentini and Luban exercised exit options in a shareholder agreement, the company said in an e-mailed statement today. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
“The bank is today ready to address with confidence and in complete independence the challenges Swiss private banks must tackle,” Eric Syz said in the statement.
Eric Syz, who increased his holding to 92.4 percent from 65.9 percent, told employees at an internal meeting today his bank is not for sale, Ricardo Payro, a spokesman for the firm, said by phone, after Swiss media including Bilan magazine reported in December that Syz & Co. held discussions with a potential buyer.
“This kills all the rumors — he has absolutely no intention to sell,” Payro said, adding that Syz & Co. held talks with other banks about pooling information technology and back office activities. Eric Syz, 56, wasn’t available for comment.
Syz & Co. oversees 33 billion Swiss francs ($37 billion) for individuals and institutional customers and plans to report a profit for 2013, according to the statement. Assets under management surged 18 percent to 25 billion francs during 2012, according to the firm’s annual report for that year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Giles Broom in Geneva at gbroom@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at fconnelly@bloomberg.net Steve Bailey
