A Credit Suisse AG shareholder is suing UBS Group AG for at least 1.06 million francs ($1.59 million), claiming he was short-changed by the bank’s government-brokered takeover of its stricken rival.

The investor claims UBS was unfairly able to snap up the shares for a bargain 0.76 Swiss francs apiece — far below the closing price of 1.86 Swiss francs on March 17, the last trading day before the deal was agreed.

“In a takeover, the shares normally command a high premium,” lawyer Dimitri Santoro wrote on behalf of his client. Offering shareholders less than the then-current stock price went against all the conventions of takeovers and ignores Credit Suisse’s broader value, he said.

The complaint was submitted by Santoro to the Zurich Commercial Court on behalf of an investor whose name was redacted in the copy seen by Bloomberg News. A spokeswoman for the court didn’t immediately reply to say if the complaint has been received or evaluated.

Swiss government officials have said Credit Suisse would’ve gone bankrupt the next day without a rescue and that a deal for UBS to buy its rival was the least-bad option.

If the complaint makes headway it could embolden other shareholders to come forward, adding to mounting legal headaches for UBS. At least 230 claims representing some 2,500 aggrieved bondholders have been filed in Switzerland since March over the controversial writedown of a class of bonds known as AT1s that was part of the rescue package.

<span class='see_also_inread'><b>See also: <a class='gtm_see_also_1_inread' style='text-decoration: underline;' href='/news/credit-suisse-crisis/credit-suisses-singapore-private-bankers-moving-ubs-offices?utm_source=website&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=ONPAGESEO'>Credit Suisse's Singapore private bankers moving to UBS offices</a></b></span>

Spokespeople for UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment on the complaint, first reported on Sunday by SonntagsZeitung.

Santoro says the amount of compensation his client sought is based on the discrepancy multiplied by the number of shares he owns. UBS had said it expects to close the deal at the end of May at the earliest, though that timetable is likely being pushed into June. UBS and the Swiss government are haggling over the precise terms of a state guarantee for the deal.

UBS sued by Credit Suisse investor arguing price was too low

Data is the new oil but is it as dirty?

'Transition credits' could sweeten deal for early retirement of coal-fired power plants: MAS, McKinsey paper

DPM Lawrence Wong appointed as GIC’s deputy chairman

Will the Rising Sun keep rising?

UBS sued by Credit Suisse investor arguing price was too low

Related News

Highlights

Data is the new oil but is it as dirty?

Related News

Credit Suisse unit ordered to pay Georgian tycoon Ivanishvili US$743 mil

Singapore seizes millions in Credit Suisse, Julius Baer accounts

UBS signals two thirds of Credit Suisse investment bank to shut