December 21, 2004
UBS to acquire wealth management business of Dresdner Bank Lateinamerika
The transaction represents another step in the expansion of UBS's business with private clients in Latin America
UBS has signed an agreement to acquire the wealth management operations of Dresdner Bank Lateinamerika (DBLA). The transaction represents another step in the continued expansion of UBS's wealth management business into the growth markets of Asia, Latin America and Europe. Subject to the necessary approvals, the wealth management operations of DBLA will be integrated into UBS's Wealth Management International business area. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2005. DBLA's institutional brokerage business in Miami is not part of the acquisition and will remain with DBLA. The value of the transaction will not be disclosed.
With its head office in Hamburg, DBLA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dresdner Bank AG and serves private clients in the core affluent and high net worth segments. UBS will take on 137 employees that currently work in DBLA's wealth management business and who manage invested assets from private clients worth €4.8 billion as at 30 June 2004. DBLA is active in all important Latin American markets.
Martin Liechti, Head of Wealth Management International Americas at UBS, says: «This transaction is a great opportunity for us to significantly expand our client franchise and to reinforce our presence especially in Miami and Hamburg. With this step, we will further strengthen our position as one of the major providers of wealth management services for Latin American private clients.»
Wealth management is a strategic core business for UBS. By acquiring the wealth management business of DBLA, UBS increases its access to wealthy private clients in the Latin American markets.
This transaction is a further step in UBS's strategy to grow its Wealth Management business — following the acquisitions in Germany (Sauerborn Trust/November 2004 and Merrill Lynch Private Banking/October 2003), in the UK (Laing & Cruickshank and Scott Goodman Harris/January 2004), in France (Lloyds Bank S.A./May 2003), in Luxembourg (American Express Bank/November 2004) and in North America (Julius Baer/December 2004).
UBS is a leading financial firm, combining financial strength with a reputation for innovation and a global culture that embraces change. UBS is one of the world's largest wealth managers, a premier investment banking and securities firm, and one of the largest global asset managers. In Switzerland, UBS is the market leader in retail and commercial banking. UBS, headquartered in Zurich and Basel, employs around 66,000 people, and has operations in 50 countries and in all major financial centers.
The Dresdner Bank Group is one of the largest banks in Europe in terms of total assets and the number of customers. Since 2001, Dresdner Bank has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Allianz Group. The combination of Allianz and Dresdner Bank offers customers considerable added value by providing them with a wide range of insurance and finance products, a large variety of sales channels and expanded advisory capacity and expertise. Dresdner Bank focuses on the target groups: private and business clients, large and corporate customers, multinationals and institutions. Dresdner Bank and Allianz have set themselves a joint goal to become one of the best suppliers of integrated financial solutions for their customers - locally, nationally and internationally.
Zurich/Basel/Frankfurt/Hamburg, 21 December 2004
UBS
