Piper sells retail brokerage biz to UBS

Thomas Coyle

12 April 2006

UBS’ first acquisition in over a year could signal a new U.S.-market strategy. UBS has agreed to buy Minneapolis-based Piper Jaffray’s brokerage business for $500 million in cash. The sale gives Piper a chance “to focus all of its human and financial capital on one goal also to get in front of some of that lower-tier retirement business.”

In fact UBS Wealth Management head Marten Hoekstra calls purchase of Piper’s brokerage business “a natural fit with our current wealth-management offering,” that will “allow UBS to serve a broader base of clients.”

UBS is one of the busiest wealth-business acquirers out there. Though it took most of 2005 off – pausing to sell Julius Baer an alternatives manager and few local private banks in Switzerland – UBS CEO Peter Wuffli recently made it clear the Zurich-based megabank was ready to get back on the acquisition trail – with U.S. and European targets uppermost in mind. –FWR