360 ONE to Acquire UBS's Wealth Business in India

According to a joint announcement, 360 One WAM will purchase Swiss financial services titan UBS's domestic wealth management division for INR 307 crore. By purchasing 20.5 million warrants at a price of INR 1,030 each, which must be converted within 18 months of the allotment date, the company will also acquire a 4.95% ownership stake in 360 One WAM.

According to the statement, 360 One will also purchase UBS's residual loan portfolio, discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management services, and local stock broking and distribution company. As of December 21, 2024, UBS has INR 26,000 crore in active assets under management.

Additionally, 360 One WAM and UBS have formed an exclusive partnership that will enable their clients to access each other's wealth management services.

More Details of the Deal

Clients of both companies will have access to both onshore and offshore wealth management products as part of the UBS-360 ONE agreement, according to 360 ONE. According to the statement, the businesses would also look into possible joint ventures on investment banking and asset management services.

360 ONE manages $68 billion in assets and offers investment and financial guidance to over 7,500 affluent and ultra-wealthy families in India. In addition to the Credit Suisse division, UBS operates trading, international banking, and asset management operations in India, as well as a number of sizable service centres throughout the nation.

Co-head of UBS global wealth management APAC Jin Yee Young told an international media outlet that the agreement combines "complementary" aspects of the two companies. Mickey Doshi, the head of UBS India and a former employee of Credit Suisse, informed a media source that the company's operations would be concentrated on investment banking and equities capital markets in the future.

Whether UBS will relinquish the local banking licence needed for the fixed-income business was not mentioned by Doshi. In 2013, UBS surrendered its Indian banking licence, but after acquiring Credit Suisse, it obtained a new one.

UBS Business Strategy in Asia

In contrast to its recent efforts to expand in other Asian wealth markets, UBS has adopted a wealth partnership approach in India. To develop services for its wealthy and ultra-wealthy clientele, it inked an agreement with Sumitomo Mitsui Trust in Japan in 2019 to establish a partnership that would be majority held by UBS.

UBS, which caters to wealthy customers in China, fully owned a securities joint venture in March of this year. Despite the growing number of affluent individuals in India, one of the fastest-growing economies, foreign private banks have encountered significant challenges in generating revenue in the country.

This struggle is primarily due to the fierce competition from deeply entrenched local actors and regulatory constraints, which have resulted in a significant number of banks exiting the market.