United Bankers Plc clarifies and simplifies its Group structure
United Bankers Plc
STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 19 June 2023 at 09:30 EEST
United Bankers Plc clarifies and simplifies its Group structure
United Bankers is planning internal corporate arrangements, the objective of which is to clarify and simplify the Group structure. During the year 2023, it is intended to implement an arrangement, which reduces the number of United Bankers Group companies and consolidates operations requiring authorisations into two subsidiaries, on or around 1 January 2024 onwards.
Current Group structure, which consists of three separate investment firms, is a result of historical reasons and has originated, among other things, from previous M&A activity. The contemplated Group structure arrangement’s objective is to clarify administration and business structures, thereby making for more efficient operations. Eliminating overlapping authorisations will enable achieving immediate cost savings. In the long term, the arrangement’s objective is to increase opportunities for centralising operations as well as optimising and enhancing the use of resources.
The Group structure’s simplification arrangement is intended to be implemented by mergers and a demerger of subsidiaries wholly owned by United Bankers. UB Securities Ltd will demerge in accordance with the Finnish Companies Act as a full demerger, in which the acquiring companies will be UB Asset Management Ltd and a new United Bankers’ wholly owned limited liability company to be established in connection with the completion of the demerger (the “New UB Securities). UB Securities Ltd will cease to exist on the completion date of the demerger. UB Asset Management Ltd will acquire all authorised operations, including safekeeping of financial instruments.
The New UB Securities will engage in Corporate Finance advisory services, namely M&A and restructuring advisory, in addition to acting as a Nasdaq Certified Adviser.
Additionally, it is intended to implement simultaneously with the demerger, but as separate arrangements the mergers of UB Brokerage Company Ltd and UB Life Ltd, which is UB Brokerage Company Ltd’s subsidiary acting as its insurance agent, into UB Asset Management Ltd as sister company and subsidiary mergers in accordance with the Finnish Companies Act. Current tied agents of UB Brokerage Company Ltd will be transferred upon completion to tied agents of UB Asset Management Ltd. The Group arrangement aims to centralise the Group’s insurance business into Finland and close the UB Life branch office located in Luxembourg.
The boards of the subsidiaries have today signed the draft terms of the demerger and mergers. The completion of the demerger is conditional upon the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority granting UB Asset Management Ltd the authorisation extensions required for conducting the business operations to be received from UB Securities Ltd. The planned completion date is 31 December 2023. However, the completion date may change due to registration-related or other reasons.
United Bankers Group has currently four companies with authorisations, all of which are subsidiaries wholly owned by United Bankers Plc. Three of them, UB Asset Management Ltd, UB Securities Ltd and UB Brokerage Company Ltd have investment firm authorisations under the Investment Services Act. UB Fund Management Company Ltd has a fund management company’s authorisation and an alternative investment fund manager’s authorisation.
For more information, please contact:
Patrick Anderson, CEO, United Bankers Plc
Email: patrick.anderson@unitedbankers.fi
Phone: +358 400 244 544, +358 9 25 380 236
Investor Relations: ir@unitedbankers.fi
United Bankers in brief:
United Bankers Plc is a Finnish expert on wealth management and investment markets, established in 1986. United Bankers Group’s business segments include wealth management and capital markets services. In asset management, the Group specialises in real asset investments. United Bankers Plc is majority-owned by its key personnel and the Group employs 148 employees (FTE) and 32 agents (31 December 2022). In 2022, the United Bankers Group’s revenue totalled EUR 48.6 million and its adjusted operating profit amounted to EUR 16.6 million. The Group’s assets under management amount to approximately EUR 4.4 billion (31 December 2022). United Bankers Plc’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. The Group companies are subject to the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority’s supervision. For further information on United Bankers Group, please visit www.unitedbankers.fi.
DISTRIBUTION:
Nasdaq Helsinki
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