Investment Bank

Significant deals

Mergers and acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions activity continued to recover strongly, with 2005 yielding the highest M&A volumes since 2000. Over 2005, we advised on 343 transactions with a deal volume of USD 496 billion - including the two largest deals announced during the year, namely Gillette’s sale to Procter & Gamble and Gas Natural’s unsolicited public offer for Endesa. We also participated in many of the most significant deals of fourth quarter 2005 including:

sole financial advisor to Vodafone Group on its USD 4.6 billion acquisition of the assets of Telsim, the number two mobile operator in Turkey, from the Turkish Savings Deposit and Insurance Fund
lead financial advisor and joint lead arranger on the financing of Hilton Hotel Corporation’s acquisition of Hilton Group lodging assets for GBP 3.3 billion
joint financial advisor to integrated concession-construction group VINCI on its EUR 17.2 billion acquisition of motorway company Autoroutes du Sud de la France (ASF).

Equity underwriting

In fourth quarter 2005, we saw record primary equity market activity, with volumes exceeding every previous fourth quarter in five years, according to Dealogic. We also had a record year for equity capital market revenues, with marked growth in European and Asian markets. The outlook for 2006 remains positive, with global emerging markets expected to continue to experience significant volume growth in the equity capital markets business. Key transactions in the quarter included:

joint bookrunner on the USD 724 million equity follow-on offering for Chesapeake Energy. In addition, UBS acted as joint bookrunner on its USD 690 million contingent convertible notes offering and USD 575 million cumulative convertible preferred stock offering
joint bookrunner and lead restructuring advisor on the USD 2.8 billion IPO of The Link Real Estate Investment Trust, the owner of the largest retail and car-park portfolio in Hong Kong
joint bookrunner on the USD 1.3 billion IPO of Vakifbank, one of the leading banks in Turkey.

Fixed income underwriting

Conditions in the primary bond markets improved throughout fourth quarter 2005. Global market issuance increased by 20% over the same period in 2004 and was up 9% on last quarter. UBS outperformed the market by increasing issuance 52% from the same period last year. In total, 102 deals were lead managed in fourth quarter. Key highlights included:

joint bookrunner on a EUR 1.3 billion subordinated hybrid issue for Henkel, the German consumer products and chemicals company
joint bookrunner on a GBP 750 million unlisted bond for US bank Wells Fargo, its debut sterling-denominated transaction
joint bookrunner on a USD 2.25 billion multi-tranche bond for leading media company Comcast, consisting of 5-,10- and 30-year tranches.

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