In recent months, BETTER FINANCE members have received a large number of inquiries about the takeover of Crédit Suisse (CS) by UBS. Former CS shareholders consider the price of CHF 3 billion that UBS paid for Crédit Suisse in the form of treasury shares to be far too low. On the last trading day before the forced merger, the value of CS was still CHF 7 billion. There are therefore various Swiss organisations that are taking legal action against the exchange ratio. The basic requirement for participation is that the shares were owned on the day the merger decision was made, i.e., on March 19, 2023, regardless of the shareholder’s place of residence. The plaintiffs, including the Swiss Investor Protection Association (SASV) and Legalpass, invoke Article 105 of the Swiss Merger Act. According to this, post-merger shareholders can demand "exchange ratio control" and "fair compensation" for their shares, in cash. For every 22.48 CS shares, there was 1 UBS share. From the point of view of the plaintiffs, this is far too low. According to the CS quarterly report, the book value per CS share was CHF 13.70 on March 31, 2023. According to information from BETTER FINANCE's German member organisation DSW, the legal period under the Merger Act expired on August 14, 2023. Filing your own lawsuit is therefore no longer possible. However, should a positive decision be reached in court, this will automatically apply to all CS shareholders who meet the legal requirements. According to the SASV, in order to be able to benefit from any out-of-court settlement, registration to participate as a shareholder is still possible as long as UBS has not yet started settlement negotiations.
As soon as something new arises in the lawsuit, BETTER FINANCE will share these updates.
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