Today a second lawsuit was filed by Credit Suisse shareholders. The plaintiffs are defending themselves against the low price paid by UBS for the takeover.
Legalpass, a firm based in western Switzerland, filed a lawsuit on behalf of over 3,000 Credit Suisse shareholders entitled «Credit US» with the Zurich Commercial Court today, according to an email statement. The suit was put together within just two months and completed on August 10.
Invoking the Merger Act
Legalpass' action follows that of the Swiss Investor Protection Association (SASV), which also filed a complaint with the Zurich Commercial Court on Monday. For its part, the SASV represents around 500 Credit Suisse shareholders, with the plaintiffs seeking compensation for losses they incurred as a result of the Credit Suisse takeover.
In particular, they want the exchange ratio of UBS to Credit Suisse shares at the time of the takeover to be reviewed by the courts pursuant to Article 105 of the Merger Act (FusG). In the forced takeover in March, UBS paid $3 billion for the outstanding share capital of its rival, which was on the verge of insolvency, while it still had a market value of around two-and-a-half times that.
The Legalpass filing is represented by the Zurich law firm Baumgartner Maechler.
Declared Crazy
«The response to our campaign was really incredible. We're very happy and proud of the journey we have made,» commented Philippe Grivat, co-founder of Legalpass, on Monday. During the creation of the collective action, which is a novelty in Switzerland, he and his team were often declared crazy, said the Frenchman. «But today the result shows that we were right to believe in our project despite all the criticism.»
