With the demise of Credit Suisse, former board member Michael Klein is experiencing a run of bad luck. He can't be too picky about his other deals.
The former leadership of Credit Suisse around CEO Ulrich Koerner and chairman Axel Lehmann were planning to serve Michael Klein the investment bank spinoff CS First Boston on a silver platter before things turned out differently. Following its takeover by UBS, the deal evaporated in March, and Klein will probably have to settle for compensation.
And that's not all. Business is also slow for shell companies (Spac), where Klein is considered a pioneer. The boom in companies that were floated on the stock market and made acquisitions with shareholders' money, has long since faded.
Diesel Generators, Forklifts
Spac investors like former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam, who recently brought a deal to fruition with a takeover, can consider themselves lucky.
Klein is still getting deals off the ground, but they're not exactly glamorous. His Spac Churchill Capital Corporation VII took over CorpAcq, a British company that owns a tinsmith, a manufacturer of diesel generators, and a supplier of trucks and forklifts for $1.6 billion.
These are all companies with solid sales, but far from investments in future technologies which Spacs like to advertise to investors.
Working with Sam Altman
At least Klein was able to offer his investors a bit of startup fantasy last month. A Spac he set up with OpenAI founder Sam Altman announced the acquisition of Oklo, a company active in the field of nuclear fission. But the environment for Spac deals hardly improved since then.
Meanwhile in Switzerland, one may be curious to see how UBS will dispose of the promises once made by Koerner & Co to the American investment banker. Here the mid-year results of the combined bank, which have been postponed until August 31, could provide more clarity.
