Safra Group, founded in the Syrian city of Aleppo in the 19th century, agreed to acquire Rabobank Groep’s controlling stake in Bank Sarasin & Cie. (BSAN) AG for more than 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.1 billion) to expand private banking in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Safra will pay 36 francs apiece for B shares, about 5 percent more than the price of Sarasin’s stock at the market close. Together with the purchase of A shares, that will give Safra 68.6 percent of the voting rights and a 46 percent equity interest, the companies said today in a statement.

The deal provides “Sarasin with additional distribution channels for its products as well as access to new growth markets,” it said in the statement. “Sarasin has significant private banking presences in key European markets, the Middle East and Asia.”

Wealth-management firms are working to reduce costs by merging or relocating operations as gains in the Swiss currency this year erode earnings. Sarasin reported 101.6 billion francs in client funds at the end of June, making the Basel, Switzerland-based bank the seventh-biggest Swiss wealth manager.

Union Bancaire Privee, a Geneva-based wealth manager, agreed in August to buy ABN Amro Group NV’s Swiss private- banking business. Julius Baer Group Ltd. acquired ING Groep NV’s Swiss wealth-management unit in 2009.

Safra Family

Firms in Safra Group’s network include Safra National Bank of New York and Brazil’s Banco Safra SA, which is controlled by Joseph Safra. He’s the world’s 68th richest person with an $11.4 billion net worth as of March 2011, according to Forbes magazine.

The Safras are heirs of 19th century financier Jacob Safra, a Syrian native whose banking business dates back to the Ottoman Empire. The family was based in Lebanon in the 1940s as part of the Jewish community.

“The origins of Sarasin and Safra are very similar,” Joseph Safra said in today’s statement. “Each is characterized by a successful banking history that dates back to the mid- nineteenth century. Each embraces and follows philosophies and strategies to private banking that are very much the same.”

One of his affiliates paid $285 million last year for 660 Madison Ave., the Manhattan home to Barneys New York, in what was the city’s priciest office deal of the year, a person with knowledge of the sale said in January.

Keeping Sarasin Public

Safra Group had $109 billion of assets under management and shareholders’ equity of $12.2 billion as of June, according to the statement. Safra intends “at present” to keep Sarasin a publicly traded company, it said.

The companies didn’t specify the number of shares sold in the transaction. The deal is valued at more than 1 billion francs, said Fransce Verdeuzeldonk, a spokeswoman for Utrecht, Netherlands-based Rabobank.

“Our successful monetization of our stake demonstrates the enhanced value of Sarasin that has been created and its attractive long-term potential,” Rabobank director Sipko Schat said in the statement. “We are most pleased that Sarasin will be able to further realize this potential with Safra as its major shareholder.”

JPMorgan Chase & Co. advised Rabobank. The transaction is subject to approval from officials in Switzerland and other countries, according to the statement.

To contact the reporters on this story: Giles Broom in Geneva at gbroom@bloomberg.net; Dakin Campbell in San Francisco at dcampbell27@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at fconnelly@bloomberg.net

• U.S. Said to Seek More Than $10 Billion Penalty From BNP   (2014-05-30 09:35:40)
• Apple Agrees to Buy Beats Electronics for $3 Billion   (2014-05-29 09:42:30)
• JPMorgan’s Pinto Shuffles Deputies, Names Hernandez Unit Co-Head   (2014-04-08 08:55:29)
• JPMorgan Folds London Whale Office Into Another Unit   (2014-04-04 09:51:48)
• JPMorgan Folds London Whale Office Into Another Unit   (2014-04-04 09:51:29)
• JPMorgan Folds London Whale Office Into Another Unit   (2014-04-04 09:51:17)
• China Construction Bank Profit Beats Estimate on Margins   (2014-03-31 10:50:22)
• Madoff Aides Convicted in $17.5 Billion Ponzi Trial After Decades Working for Firm   (2014-03-25 13:24:38)
• Fed Revises Worst-Case Stress-Test Results for Biggest Banks   (2014-03-22 09:45:32)
• BofA, Citigroup, Credit Suisse Sued by FDIC Over Libor   (2014-03-15 10:32:09)