By 
ZURICH:
The Wall Street Journal reports that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is exploring a $500 million investment in the newly formed Credit Suisse investment bank, CS First Boston.
The US financial publication provided a list of possible investors for the new business, citing unidentified persons with knowledge of the situation.
According to the sources cited by WSJ, Atlas Merchant Capital, a private equity group led by the former CEO of British banking giant Barclays, as well as the Saudi crown prince are possible investors. Atlas Merchant Capital was apparently contemplating investing $500 million in the business.
The newspaper stated on Sunday that Credit Suisse itself had earlier claimed to have a $500 million commitment from an unidentified investor and that its chairman had also claimed to have additional substantial commitments.
According to WSJ’s sources, the bank has not yet received a formal proposal from the Saudi organization. At the end of October, Credit Suisse revealed a major restructuring plan aimed at completely overhauling its investment banking division, which has been at the center of a number of controversies.
One of the adjustments was the decision to bring back the First Boston brand, which was the name of a US investment bank it had acquired in 1990 and where its capital market and advisory activities would be consolidated.
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