EFG International posts profit rise, to acquire private bank Cité Gestion (updated)

EFG International AG

19/02/2025 09:35

(Recasts throughout with details from CEO, context)
       ZURICH, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Switzerland's EFG
International  EFGN.S  on Wednesday said it had posted a net
profit of 321.6 million Swiss francs ($356 million) in 2024, an
increase of 6% from the previous year, and that it was acquiring
Swiss private bank Cité Gestion.
    EFG announced that net new assets were 10.1 billion francs,
good for a growth rate of 7.1%, and above EFG's target range of
4-6%, prompting CEO Giorgio Pradelli to say the private bank was
upbeat about its prospects for the coming year.
        "We are well ahead of our original plan, and we are
confident that we can exceed our 2025 ambitions," Pradelli told
journalists on a conference call, noting that the bank was
planning to pay out its highest-ever dividend per share.
  
        Markets were cheered by EFG's results, with its stock
rising by almost 4% after opening. The shares later pared gains.
  
    EFG said it would acquire 100% of Geneva-based Cité Gestion
with about 7.5 billion francs of assets under management (AUM),
and that the transaction was expected to close in the second
half of 2025, subject to regulatory approval.
    Cite Gestion's website said the firm has 150 employees.
    Pradelli said EFG's total AUM with the new acquisition would
be approximately 175 billion francs, adding that Cité Gestion
last year made a net profit of around $6 million. He expected
the transaction to be earnings-per-share accretive by 2026.
        EFG said in November it was looking at potential 
    acquisitions
    , and Pradelli left the door open to doing more.
  
        "We will continue to try to identify further
opportunities in line with our M&A strategy," he said.
  
    ($1 = 0.9025 Swiss francs)

 (Reporting by Dave Graham, editing by Thomas Seythal and John
Revill)
 ((dave.graham@thomsonreuters.com))