1 Introduction
The vast majority of Swiss business enterprises is privately held. Out of a total of approximately 170'000 stock companies, only about 300 are listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange. However, as in many other countries, "going public" has become increasingly popular. A number of companies has recently taken this step or announced such intentions (e.g. Schaffner Holding, Barry Callebaut, Gretag Imaging, Swisscom, Burkhalter Holding, Bally). Even those companies listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange are mostly controlled by a single or few shareholders, wherefore most mergers and acquisitions in Switzerland are negotiated privately.
In 1996, merger activity in Switzerland reached a first peak with mergers like Ciba and Sandoz (becoming Novartis AG), Unigestion and Republic National Bank, Adia and Ecco and Feldschlösschen and Hürlimann. They were followed by the mergers between Credit Suisse Group and Winterthur and between Zurich Insurance and BAT Industries Finance. These
