Activist investor RBR Capital Advisors wants to expand its stake in credit Suisse to 1 billion Swiss francs ($1 billion), as the hedge fund pushes to spin off the Swiss lender’s investment bank and asset management business.
RBR has so far invested almost half its 250 million francs in assets to buy roughly 0.2 percent of Credit Suisse, which it believes would be worth twice as much if the bank focused solely on wealth management and its Swiss business.
RBR Chief Executive Rudolf Bohli is trying to drum up fresh cash to take a larger position in Credit Suisse, switzerland second-biggest bank.
“Currently the RBR fund has invested 100 million,” Bohli told Reuters in a telephone interview. “We aim to raise an additional 900 (million).”
The boutique Swiss hedge fund went public this week with its campaign to split up Credit Suisse into three parts: an investment bank, an asset management group and a wealth manager accommodating its Swiss retail and corporate banking operations.
Success hinges on winning support from other investors, with Bohli saying his firm has signed non-disclosure agreements with 150 investors, mainly non-Credit Suisse shareholders.
RBR, which has had mixed success in previous activist campaigns against asset manager Gam and airline catering company Gategroup has not set a timeframe for its campaign.