U.S. banking powerhouse State Street publicly denied recent rumors about its attempts to acquire struggling Swiss lender Credit Suisse. According to the statement sent out via mail to influential media outlet Bloomberg, “there is no basis” for these “continuing market rumors.”
“State Street is not pursuing an acquisition of, or any other business combination with, Credit Suisse,” said the statement.
The news about a potential Credit Suisse takeover first surfaced on Inside Paradeplatz. The website claimed that State Street is ready to offer CHF9 ($9.05) per share at a premium of more than 30 percent. This would place the total value of CHF23 billion ($23.13 billion) on Credit Suisse.
Initially, both State Street and Credit Suisse denied making comments on the reports. In the aftermath, Credit Suisse stock has seen a rare spike of around 3.8 percent in Switzerland. On the other hand, State Street stock dipped around 5 percent in the United States.
Even though State Street is not pursuing a deal for Credit Suisse, that doesn’t mean some other suitor won’t come along soon. There seems to be an interest among shareholders in finding a new owner, although any potential deal would depend on the price.
“For the right buyer [or] price, we would be supportive,” said David Herro of Harris Associates; one of the top three shareholders in Credit Suisse.
