UBS $10 Billion Writedown, $11.5 billion Bailout

Bye Bye After 23 years... Restructuring firm Gordon Brothers Group bought CompUSA for an undisclosed sum and will sell or close its 103 stores after the U.S. holidays.

French Avoid Fire Sale... Societe Generale, France's second-biggest bank by market value, will bail out its SIV structured investment vehicle by taking on $4.3 billion of assets to avoid a fire sale.

The rescue will cause Societe Generale's ratio of Tier 1 assets, a measure of financial strength, to fall by 5 basis points

Surprise or No Surprise?... Following a Q3 $4.33 billion writedown and its first quarterly loss in five years....

UBS, Europes largest bank by assets, scrapped a forecast for a Q4 profit and may post a full year loss.

UBS will write down U.S. subprime mortgage investments by $10 billion. UBS now in dire need of cash to boost its Tier 1 reserves...

plans to raise capital by replacing the 2007 cash dividend with stock and...

selling a $11.5 billion or 11% stake in the company. Government of Singapore GIC will buy a 9% share of UBS and an unidentified Midle Eastern investor (Oman) 2%.

And the bailout ain't cheap...

The UBS bonds are mandatory convertible notes carrying a coupon of 9% until conversion into ordinary shares which must take place within approximately two years of the issue.

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