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Synthesis’s former shareholders, including its chief executive and majority owner, Charles-Henri Sabet, will hold about 6.7% of the enlarged Saxo |
Saxo Bank, like Oanda, is a predominantly retail FX provider that believes it has reached sufficient maturity to expand its client base into new areas (see Investment in Oanda platform underlines retail sector’s importance, Euromoney, October 2007). The bank announced on September 13 that it had acquired Synthesis Bank of Switzerland in an agreed transaction. The two institutions have had a partner relationship for more than three years. Although technically a bank, Synthesis is a relatively small but successful trading operation, which had white-labelled Saxo’s SaxoTrader platform. Saxo declined to put a precise value on the transaction but said Synthesis’s former shareholders, including its chief executive and majority owner, Charles-Henri Sabet, will hold about 6.7% of the enlarged Saxo; they also received an undisclosed cash amount. Sabet will now become a board member of Saxo’s senior management team and oversee its trading activities.
What Synthesis does have, as well as a successful trading operation, is a Swiss banking licence. Although such licences are not seen as particularly difficult to obtain, that held by Synthesis does provide Saxo, assuming that all regulatory hurdles are overcome, with what it sees as an easier route into the wealth management business.