Ernst Tanner and Falcon join Signa Holding
In addition to its investment in Signa Development Selection AG and Signa Prime Selection AG, Zurich-based Falcon Private Bank has now also acquired 24.9 percent of the shares in Austrian Signa Holding from René Benko. At the same time, Ernst Tanner, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lindt & Sprüngli, previously also a Signa Prime shareholder, has acquired 10 percent of the shares in Signa Holding. The Benko family private foundation holds a controlling stake of 65.1 percent in the holding company.
Lindt & Sprüngli CEO Ernst Tanner explained: "I have been friends with the founder of Signa, René Benko, for several years and have been impressed by the development of the Signa Group from the very beginning. After years of excellent cooperation at Signa Prime, it is now a logical consequence for me to take a stake in Signa Holding." Tanner was also elected to the Signa Group's strategic advisory board. Likewise, Walid Chammah, Chairman and Co-President of Morgan Stanley International until 2012, and Eduardo Leemann, CEO of Falcon Private Bank, were appointed to the Advisory Board.
Falcon Private Bank, founded in Zurich in 1965 as an overseas bank, has been owned by the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), a sovereign wealth fund from Abu Dhabi, since 2009. "Our cooperation with Falcon Private Bank has already been very successful. We are all the more pleased that Falcon Private Bank is expanding its commitment and is now also a shareholder of Signa Holding," says Christoph Stadlhuber, Managing Director of Signa Holding. (mr)
