On 21 October 2024, Swisscard AECS GmbH ("Swisscard") announced that UBS Switzerland AG ("UBS") and American Express Swiss Holdings GmbH entered into an agreement for the sale and purchase of UBS's 50% stake in Swisscard. Further, UBS and Swisscard entered into an agreement to transition the Credit Suisse branded card portfolios to UBS. Both the sale of UBS's stake in Swisscard and the transition of the Credit Suisse branded card portfolio to UBS are subject to certain closing conditions.
Bär & Karrer acted as legal advisor to UBS in this transaction. The team was led by Vera Naegeli and included Rolf Watter, Linus Zweifel, Michael Bänziger, Fabian Schlegel and Soheyla Lichtensteiger (all M&A and Corporate & Commercial), Susanne Schreiber, Cyrill Diefenbacher, Fabian Capt and Martin Leu (all Tax), Daniel Flühmann and Christina Werren (both Regulatory), Mani Reinert, Tim Meyer and Martin Werner (all Competition), Lukas Roesler and Annick Pietzonka (both Finance), Cinzia Catelli, Predrag Sunaric and Yves Tjon-A-Meeuw (all Litigation) as well as Laura Widmer (Employment).