Retail investors who lost money when Credit Suisse was taken over by UBS in March plan to file a lawsuit challenging the controversial buyout, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
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The Swiss Investor Protection Association plans to file the claim in Zurich’s commercial court on Monday on behalf of about 500 Credit Suisse equity investors, the newspaper said.
The FT said most of the claimants are Swiss, but there are other investors from the UK, US, Germany, Austria, Thailand and Dubai. Many are former Credit Suisse staff who acquired shares as part of their remuneration.
In March, Credit Suisse was forced into an emergency takeover by rival UBS to avert bankruptcy. The demise of the 167-year-old banking institution sent shockwaves through the global financial system and is viewed as a grave embarrassment in Switzerland.
UBS agreed to buy Credit Suisse for CHF3 billion ($3.2 billion). The Swiss National Bank (SNB) smoothed the transaction by providing CHF100 billion in liquidity to UBS and Credit Suisse during the takeover. The government agreed to absorb up to CHF9 billion of potential UBS losses.
Orchestrated by Swiss authorities, the takeover denied shareholders in both banks a vote on the deal.
It is the second class action by shareholders in Credit Suisse targeting UBS, while there are several lawsuits being pursued by bondholders who were wiped out.
Last Friday, UBS announced it no longer needed government support for the takeover, in a move that may help ease public anger over the deal in the run-up to national elections in October.
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