The takeover-coup by his current employer, Sunrise, heralds back to Peter Kurer's past as a prominent securities lawyer. The former UBS chairman is no stranger to big deals.
More then ten years after the financial crisis, Peter Kurer remains best-known as a stop-gap chairman for UBS following the exit of mercurial Marcel Ospel in 2008. Kurer is less well-known as a prominent Swiss securities lawyer for prestigious law firm Homburger.
As a lawyer behind the scenes, Kurer was part of some of the largest deals in recent Swiss business history, including the creation of industrial technology firm ABB in 1988 and the birth of drugmaker Novartis in 1996. All told, he chaperoned more than 100 mergers and acquisitions, as Swiss tabloid «Blick» noted in 2008.
Collecting Tombstones
After telecommunications firm Sunrise, which Kurer presides, took over rival UPC this week, he can add another tombstone to his collection. The Sunrise-UPC tie-up is meant to pose a threat for incumbent Swisscom.
Unfortunately, investors are finding the deal less than visionary: Kurer had to accept an initial drop of more than 10 percent in Sunrise's share price, with investors wary of a prolonged and rocky integration. To be sure, Kurer is accustomed to turmoil: UBS' 2008 rescue as well as the Swiss bank's $780 million penalty in the U.S. over tax evasion occurred during his tenure.
