Kairos is for sale again. Zurich on pole position

The dossier is hot again Kairosthe Italian subsidiary of the Swiss private banking giant Julius Baer. According to rumors published in Il Sole 24 Ore, which have not been confirmed by the parties involved, the auction for the sale of the Milan independent investment boutique has resumed and the dossier could be ready by the end of August. Here’s who the worshipers of Kairos are and who’s the sexiest.

Possible buyers

Three companies are interested in taking over Kairos: Banca Patrimoni Sella, Anima And Zurich Bank. The latter is the most interested, so it has been given an exclusivity to take over. In the event that the marriage comes about between the two parties, a giant of financial advice with masses would be born 21 billion euros, of which 5 billion managed by Kairos (as of April 30, 2023). We remember that in August 2021, Zurich acquired the financial advisory business of Financial Advisor to Deutsche Bank.

Banca Patrimoni Sella, which already owns 74% of the capital of Sella Sgr, the savings management company of the eponymous group, is also among the candidates for Kairos. However, the rumors indicate that negotiations with Kairos are cooling off. Should the operation go ahead, Sella Group would increase its assets under management to 19.4 around 25 billion euros.

After all, Kairos is also interested Soulwhich has a large liquidity base for mergers and acquisitions.

Who is Kairos?

Kairos was founded in 1999 as an entrepreneurial initiative in the asset management sector. With offices in Milan, Rome, Turin, Lugano and London, it offers a select range of investment services and solutions for private clients, professional operators and institutional investors.

In 2012, it signed a partnership with Swiss Julius Baer, ​​for which it initially acquired 100% of Julius Baer Sim, while the Swiss group took a 19.9% ​​stake in Kairos Investment Management. In 2016 Julius Baer increased to 80% and in January 2018 to 100%. In 2020 he sold 30% of the capital to the founding partner Guido Maria Brera and to two historic managers of the boutique: Rocco Bove and Massimo Trabattoni.

Julius Baer then tried to sell its stake in Kairos in December 2018 and gave a mandate to Goldman Sachs, but in September 2019 it did a reversal. The Milan investment boutique is now up for sale again.