UPDATE 1-Falcon Private Bank buys Clariden Leu unit from CSuisse
* Falcon private bank acquires Clariden Leu unit
* Unit has 2 bln Swiss francs of assets
* Credit Suisse integrated boutique Clariden Leu last year
* Clariden Leu managed 94 bln Sfr in assets end-June 2011
* Falcon is owned by Abu Dhabi fund Aabar Investments
(Adds details)
FRANKFURT/DUBAI, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Falcon Private Bank, a Swiss private bank owned by Abu Dhabi fund Aabar Investments, said it will acquire a London-based unit of boutique Clariden Leu from Credit Suisse , including some 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.13 billion) in assets.
No financial details of the transaction, which will see 57 staff of Clariden Leu (Europe) including 22 private bankers move to Falcon, were disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013, Falcon said in a statement on Thursday.
UBS acted as financial adviser to Falcon Private Bank.
Falcon is acquiring part of what remains of formerly independent boutique Clariden Leu, most of which was integrated into Credit Suisse last November in an attempt to cut costs, marking an end to a 250-year-old brand.
Falcon will rename the Clariden Leu unit but maintain its status as an independent asset manager, with its existing business model and custodial arrangements staying in place, Falcon Chief Executive Eduardo Leemann said.
A Credit Suisse spokeswoman did not elaborate why the Clariden Leu unit was exempted from the integration into the larger bank, a move which was emotionally charged and seen as a mixed success.
Overall, Clariden Leu suffered 3.4 billion Swiss francs ($3.63 billion) in second-quarter outflows, although the bank said at the time assets had stabilised after withdrawals ebbed to a low of 200 million francs in June.
Falcon is owned by Abu Dhabi fund Aabar Investments, which in turn is majority-owned by International Petroleum Investment Company, a quasi-sovereign entity controlled by the Abu Dhabi government.
Falcon was the private banking unit of American International Group (AIG) before Aabar bought it in April 2009.
($1 = 0.9378 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Katharina Bart and David French; Editing by Catherine Evans)
((katharina.bart@thomsonreuters.com)(+41 58 306 7461))
Keywords: CREDITSUISSE FALCON/