Alantra cuts Germany staff in half
Cracking the Vault: Your daily roundup on all things finance
Cracking the Vault is your daily news roundup with a focus on Switzerland, Germany and Austria.
Basel committee assessing AT1 investor suitability; Bafin fining Commerzbank; Alantra cutting bankers in Germany; UBS rivals hoping to poach wealthy clients; and Swiss banks facing hit on SNB reserve rule.
Let’s jump in!
Headline recap
Global banking regulator Basel Committee on Banking Supervision sounds out investors on suitability of AT1s (FT)
German regulator Bafin fines Commerzbank over anti-money laundering non-compliance (FM)
Alantra cuts Germany staff amid investment banking slump (FM)
Building materials manufacturer Knauf to withdraw from Russia (WiWo)
UBS’s Swiss rivals hope Credit Suisse hires will win wealthy clients (WSJ)
Austria lets ESG investors dodge bank fees with direct offering (BBG)
Swiss banks face $440m hit on higher SNB reserve rule (BBG)
Earnings
SNB likely to post record profit of more than CHF50bn in first quarter (FuW)
SAP plans to cut 8,000 jobs and most of costs incurred in first quarter, however, operating business is running well (HB)
Upcoming:
Today: Novartis, Deutsche Börse, Mayr Melnhof Karton, Temenos
Wednesday: TE Connectivity
Thursday: Merck, BASF, Deutsche Bank, Symrise, Andritz, HelloFresh, Fielmann, Hella, Kion
Friday: Porsche
Transaction update
M&A
Partners Group-backed Form Technologies said to weigh sale, facing $900m of debt maturing next year (BBG)
Mutares makes fourth acquisition in 2024 with Greenview Group, a mechanical, electrical, heating and sustainable energy service provider (PEH)
IPO
CVC IPO pricing implying a market valuation of $16bn and planning to raise €250m (WSJ)
TPG-backed cruise operator Viking sets price range for $1.1bn IPO (BBG)
Venture capital
Celebrities investing in GetYourGuide, among others, former Axel Springer board member Andreas Wiele, Diesel founder Renzo Rosso, major Hugo Boss shareholder Gaetano Marzotto (MM)
Smart Reporting, a Munich-based tech company, closed a Series C financing of €23m, led by TVM Capital Life Science (EUS)
Fundraising & Financing
Germany’s BayWa scrapped a euro bond sale Monday, just weeks before existing notes will mature (BBG)
Pictet launched new private markets fund focusing on environmental technology investments, targeting $400m (CW)
Podcast picks
Data-Driven Impact Investing w/ Bridgespan’s William Foster (Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast)
How Walt Disney Built Himself (Founders)