ROME: Julius Baer Group Ltd., Switzerland’s third-largest wealth manager, agreed to buy a majority stake in Milan-based Kairos Investment Management SpA from its managers to boost assets it oversees in Italy.
The private-banking group is raising its holding to 80 percent from 19.9 percent, the companies said in separate statements Monday, without disclosing the price. The transaction is expected to close in 2016 and the companies have agreed to pursue a listing of Kairos on the Italian stock exchange.
“The partnership between Julius Baer and Kairos has proven to be a powerful force in the Italian wealth-management sector, surpassing our expectations when we started this journey in 2013,” Julius Baer Chief Executive Officer Boris Collardi said a statement.
As the private-banking industry shrinks, Collardi has said he’s interested in making further acquisitions. The Swiss company has set aside $350 million for a potential U.S. penalty over its role in helping Americans hide untaxed assets in Switzerland.
The Swiss private bank with about 297 billion Swiss francs ($295 billion) of assets reported a decline in gross margins as of the end of October and said net client inflows were below the firm’s medium-term target of 4 percent to 6 percent.
