A lawsuit aimed at the price UBS paid for Credit Suisse now has enough plaintiffs and money to proceed. The Lausanne-based legal startup Legalpass is behind the action.
Lausanne-based legal startup Legalpass secured sufficient funds for its «Credit US» campaign to begin preparations for filing a class action lawsuit related to the acquisition price UBS paid for Credit Suisse, which is seen as too low, according to a statement on Thursday.
There are currently 350 participants joining in with sign-ups open until July 20. Andreas Hauenstein of the Zurich law firm Baumgartner Maechler is responsible for filing the lawsuit.
Legalpass was founded by lawyers Philippe Grivat and Alexandre Osti. The «Credit US» action aims to allow Credit Suisse shareholders to join forces in a lawsuit and attempt to wrest a better price for the transaction.
To be sure, Swiss law doesn't offer the possibility of a class action, but merger law allows shareholders to demand a review of the exchange ratio to attempt to obtain adequate compensation, it said.
Osti said that Credit Suisse shareholders' voices were not heard at the general meeting, and this action will give them their day in court.
Financing the Lawsuit
Fees finance the lawsuit for which Legalpass charges a minimum administrative fee of 120 Swiss francs ($134) for participation and a maximum of 15 centimes per share held. The fee per share decreases for higher shareholdings, and the administrative fee is waived.
In the acquisition completed on June 12, Credit Suisse shareholders received one UBS share for every 22.48 Credit Suisse shares held, valuing Credit Suisse at approximately 3 billion francs when the acquisition was announced on March 19. The UBS share price at the time corresponded to a value of 76 centimes per Credit Suisse share.
The Ethos investment foundation recently pledged its support for the lawsuit.
