EFG up as sources say takeover talks with Julius Baer halted

EFG International AG

27/05/2024 08:54

** Shares in Swiss bank EFG International  EFGN.S  rise as
much as 4.7% after sources said Julius Baer  BAER.S  held talks
with it about a potential takeover, but the discussions have
since stopped
    ** Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti says the market might
believe there is some probability that talks are still ongoing,
considering recent news flow
    ** "If Julius Baer wants to buy EFG, they have to offer a
premium to do so. And that's the reason why typically the
smaller company in such a scenario rises," Venditti says
    ** He adds that free float and thus liquidity is low for
EFG, with shares tending to move to a larger extent than a share
which would be very liquid
    ** Discussions had been ongoing since February, but the
banks recently stopped talking, people with knowledge of the
matter told Reuters on Friday
    ** Reuters could not establish the reason for the talks
halting
    ** Spokespeople of both companies declined to comment
    ** EFG has a market value of about 3.8 billion Swiss francs
($4.15 billion) and Julius Baer one of 11.5 billion francs

($1 = 0.9148 Swiss francs)

 (Reporting by Louis van Boxel-Woolf and Linda Pasquini)
 ((Louis.vanBoxel-Woolf@thomsonreuters.com))