Global law firm Freshfields has advised Geely Financials Denmark A/S on the agreed sale of its 49.88% stake in Saxo Bank A/S to Bank J. Safra Sarasin AG.

Saxo Bank A/S is a provider of multi-asset trading and investment solutions, organized as a fully licensed bank under the supervision of the Danish FSA and holding broker and banking licenses in multiple jurisdictions. It is headquartered in Copenhagen/Denmark and has more than 2,300 professionals in financial centers around the world including London, Singapore, Amsterdam, Zurich, Dubai and Tokyo.

Switzerland based Bank J. Safra Sarasin AG has agreed to acquire approximately 70% of Saxo Bank A/S, previously held by Geely Financials Denmark A/S (49.88%) and Mandatum plc (19.83%). Founder and CEO, Kim Fournais, will continue as CEO and retain approximately 28% ownership.

The transaction is subject to standard regulatory and other approvals, including from the Swiss FINMA and the Danish FSA.

The Freshfields team was jointly led by Partner Patrick Cichy (Corporate/M&A, Hamburg), Partner Robin Helmke (Corporate/Capital Markets, Frankfurt), Principal Associate Jan Biermann (Corporate/M&A, Frankfurt) and Associate Bruno Gebhardi (Corporate/M&A, Hamburg), and further included:

• Partners: Janina Heinz (Financial Regulatory, Frankfurt), Ilka Oberländer (Antitrust, Munich), Andy Robinson (Corporate/M&A, London)
• Counsel: Peter Stark (Tax, Frankfurt)
• Associates: Sara Elisa Dietz (Corporate M&A, Frankfurt), Max Lennart Dürkop (Corporate/M&A, Hamburg), Nikita Grätsch (Financial Regulatory, Frankfurt), Nico Kiekebusch (Antitrust, Berlin), Bernardo Mora (Corporate/Capital Markets, Frankfurt), Daniel Renner (Tax, Frankfurt), Simon Schulte (Corporate/M&A, Hamburg)