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A Lausanne-based legal initiative launched a class-action-like lawsuit in favor of former Credit Suisse shareholders on Thursday. These exploded badly when they were taken over by UBS. “We target small shareholders first,” Philippe Grivat and Alexandre Osti, the founders and lawyers of Legalpass behind the venture, told AWP news agency in an interview.
Swiss law does not allow class action lawsuits. However, merger law provides the opportunity for shareholders to request a “currency review” so that they can possibly receive “appropriate” compensation. “Key shareholders have the opportunity to initiate expensive lawsuits and therefore can hope for an out-of-court settlement, but this does not include other shareholders,” said Grivat, attorney. Requests from other shareholders will now be collected in a common process.
15 cents per share
If the plaintiffs are successful, they will receive compensation in proportion to the number of shares they own. So far, only one shareholder, whose identity is unknown, has filed a lawsuit. “As the merger is finalized on 12 June and published in the Swiss Official Journal of Business (SHAB), more is likely to come in our interest,” the lawyer said.
Minor shareholders cannot afford a lawsuit, and Legalpass’ collective action makes it possible to reduce costs to a “more reasonable” level. Specifically, the company charges 15 cents per share and the fee decreases with volume, a minimum of 120 francs, which equates to 800 shares.
“This is a very good deal”
Attorney Andreas Hauenstein from the law firm Baumgartner Mächler will initiate cases in the competent court in Zurich and represent the shareholders. “Searching for a merger law professional was even more difficult, as many work for law firms that represent the interests of UBS or Credit Suisse,” said attorney Osti. But he claimed that his chances of success were given unprecedented.
“When the stock market closed on March 17, CS was technically still worth 7 billion francs, but UBS only paid 3 billion, which is a very good deal,” Osti said. On May 23, UBS submitted a 100-page report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which it estimated was the true value of CS at $38 billion.
Grivat said UBS bought the CS at a 90 percent discount. “So there is a potential for compensation that is significantly higher than the 15 cents per share that our action costs,” the lawyer stressed. (pbe/SDA)
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
