SWITZERLAND: Rudolf Bohli, the activist hedge-fund manager pushing for a breakup of Credit Suisse Group AG, said he’s in talks with more than 150 potential investors with the goal of raising 1 billion francs ($1.02 billion) for his campaign. Bohli, whose firm RBR Capital Advisors AG currently manages about 250 million francs, said most of the potential backers he pitched on his idea aren’t Credit Suisse shareholders. He said he was confident he could raise the funds in coming months based on those discussions, without providing details. “There is a huge interest in this because the whole banking sector has not been disrupted really,” Bohli said in an interview. “A lot of the investors we talk to see this opportunity.”
Bohli, whose firm owns about 0.2 percent of the Swiss lender, is urging Credit Suisse to be split into three companies, arguing such a move would double the bank’s current market value of about 40 billion francs. His plan has been dismissed by the company and its biggest shareholder, Harris Associates, which owns 9 percent of Credit Suisse. David Herro, a partner at Harris, has said while elements of the proposal should be looked at, Bohli’s valuations were “pie in the sky” and the investor has too little “skin in the game.” “We are fully supportive of the Credit Suisse management and do not support RBR’s plan to split up” the bank, Herro said by email.
