Swiss banking giant UBS has agreed to sell its wealth management business in Austria to Liechtenstein-based private banking group LGT. The business has around 4 billion euros (US$4.9 billion) in assets under management and some 60 employees. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
LGT, which is owned by the Princely House of Liechtenstein, says the acquisition will bring its AUM in Austria to 12 billion euros, from 8 billion euros in mid-2020, making it the leading private bank for high-net-worth private clients in the market. It will integrate the UBS staff covered by the deal into its offices in Vienna and Salzburg, which currently have around 170 employees.
The asset management business of UBS in Austria is not part of the transaction.
UBS Austria country head Wolfgang Eisl comments: "Our domestic wealth management business in Austria has developed well and yielded sustainable profits over the past few years, but our market share remains comparatively small.”
“Clients and staff in Austria will benefit from being part of a bigger domestic business in Austria and clients in our other European markets will benefit from even more focus and investment as we redeploy resources to client services and accelerated growth in these markets," says Christl Novakovic, the bank’s chief executive officer for Europe.
Subject to regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2021.