Private Equity News & Analysis

Internal memo confirms Credit Suisse’s Private Fund Group move

The transfer to its CS First Boston unit comes amid a turnaround plan from October that seeks to centre the Swiss bank’s operations around wealth management.

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A Credit Suisse Asset Management internal memo seen by Private Equity International confirms plans by the bank to transfer its Private Fund Group to CS First Boston, its investment banking and capital markets business.

Together, PFG and CS First Boston “will form an enhanced, highly-connected coverage, execution and capital raising team focused on our private equity clients”, according to the memo.

The memo also noted that the groups are strategically beneficial with overlapping clientele.

The move comes amid a restructuring programme the Swiss bank disclosed in October last year, which is set to put more focus on the bank’s wealth management unit and shrink its investment banking operations, which involves axing 9,000 jobs. Strategic priorities for 2023-24 also include completing the carveout of CS First Boston and exiting non-core businesses to improve efficiency and reduce costs, the Swiss bank said in its fourth-quarter 2022 results statement on Thursday.

Apollo Global Management is among firms mulling a stake in CS First Boston, according to a Reuters report, which noted that the Zurich-based bank was seeking $500 million from investors for CSFB.

Credit Suisse declined to comment on both the memo and the Reuters report.

Bloomberg reported in January that the bank was considering moving PFG to CS First Boston.

PFG has raised 441 funds with $636 billion in capital since inception in 1994. The placement agent and advisory group also has a dedicated capital solutions team, which has advised on approximately $68 billion of secondaries, direct and co-investment transactions.

On the fundraising side, PFG has raised funds for Sentinel Capital Partners, Clearlake Capital Group, Blue Wolf Capital Partners and G Square, according to PEI Group data.

Its secondaries advisory unit executed over $4 billion of transaction in North America between November 2021 and October last year, including $3.9 billion in GP-initiated secondaries transactions and $500 million in direct placements, per its submission for the PEI Awards 2022.

– Adam Le contributed to this report.