Saxo Bank has a new majority shareholder: Swiss private bank J. Safra Sarasin, part of the Brazilian J. Safra Group. The private bank, the sixth-biggest in Switzerland, is acquiring the stakes held by Chinese automotive group Geely and Finnish asset manager Mandatum, taking its ownership to 70 percent.
The companies announced the transaction on Monday, valuing Danish-based Saxo Bank at just under 1.6 billion euros. Co-founder and CEO Kim Fournais will retain his 28 percent stake and remain chairman of the board.
According to the announcement, Saxo Bank will continue to operate as an independent entity. J. Safra Sarasin sees the acquisition as a strategic step towards diversification, highlighting the complementary nature of the two businesses: Saxo’s strength in digital trading and innovation alongside the Swiss bank’s heritage in wealth and asset management, which dates back to 1841.
In Belgium and the Netherlands, Saxo Bank is primarily known as an online broker and custodian bank for independent asset managers. A spokesperson stated that the acquisition would have no direct impact on these operations.
Saxo acquired BinckBank in 2019, but the integration proved challenging from an operational standpoint, leading to a difficult transition period.