ZURICH/MADRID (Reuters) -Swiss private bank Julius Baer held talks with EFG International about a potential takeover in recent months but the discussions have stopped, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The two Swiss banks were in talks around the time Julius Baer ousted its chief executive officer Philipp Rickenbacher in February, after losses on loans to failed property firm Signa, the people said. Julius Baer considered EFG's CEO Giorgio Pradelli as a potential head of a combined entity as part of the takeover deliberations, the people said.
Swiss private bank EFG International has a market valuation of more than $4 billion, according to LSEG data. Julius Baer and EFG International declined to comment on the report. A deal between the two Swiss banks could create a wealth manager with more than 500 billion Swiss francs ($547.11 billion) in assets under management, according to the Bloomberg report.
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