UBS To Buy Commodities Index Business From AIG
19 January 2009 - 7:15PM
Dow Jones News
Swiss bank UBS AG (UBS) said Monday it will buy American
International Group's (AIG) commodity index business, including the
rights to the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index.
UBS said it would pay $15 million on closing and up to $135
million more over the next 18 months, depending on performance.
The purchase by UBS comes as a surprise, considering its recent
divestments to get out of the commodities business.
"It seems a strange time to waste $150 million on something like
this," Helvea analyst Peter Thorne told Dow Jones Newswires. Thorne
rates the stock at accumulate.
The Swiss bank just last Friday announced the sale of a tranche
of commodities operations to Barclays PLC (BCS). In December, UBS
agreed to sell its Canadian energy and global agriculture
businesses to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM).
UBS shares closed at CHF13.33 Friday, down 10% in 2009 so
far.
Company Web Site: http://www.ubs.com
-By Hans Schoemaker, Dow Jones Newswires; +41-43-4438045;
hans.schoemaker@dowjones.com
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