MILAN (Reuters) – Credit Suisse shares fell on Thursday on growing skepticism of a takeover from U.S. financial giant State Street after a media report on Wednesday boosted the heavily-shorted stock from a near 20-year low.
Responding to an Inside Paradeplatz report that U.S.-based group was planning a takeover bid, State Street said overnight it was focused on the pending acquisition of Brown Brothers Harriman’s Investors Services business.
The lack of any confirmation drove shares Credit Suisse further down from the highs hit on Wednesday. By 0708 GMT they fell 3.5%, underperforming Europe’s broader market which was down 0.5% ahead of a European Central Bank policy meeting.
Analysts see any takeover as highly unlikely because of limited synergies and a number of risks ranging from capital costs to litigation. One area, however, of potential interest for State Street could be the asset management business.
The deal speculation comes as Credit Suisse delivered a third consecutive quarterly profit warning.
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni; Editing by Saikat Chatterjee)
