Fintech giant Ant Group Co has outbid Billionaire Ken Griffin’s Citadel Securities for Credit Suisse’s investment bank venture in China, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.
Alibaba Group affiliate Ant Group’s bid to build a securities business in China using embattled Swiss lender Credit Suisse’s operations will face a thorough review because Beijing favors a foreign buyer, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
UBS Group AG will now face a dilemma in choosing between the higher local bid from Ant, or the lower Citadel bid submitted in December offering about 1.5 billion yuan ($208.47 million) to 2 billion yuan that is more likely to win government approval, the report added.
UBS, Ant Group and Citadel did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
UBS’ takeover of Credit Suisse, the biggest bank merger since the 2008 global financial crisis, was hastily arranged last year by Swiss authorities to avert Credit Suisse’s collapse.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that UBS was planning headcount cuts in the coming months as the bank’s China-focused bankers swelled after it took over Credit Suisse. ($1 = 7.1952 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
