Sunrise top management steps down after UPC acquisition falls through

Stepping down with immediate effect: Sunrise CEO Olaf Swantee. (Image: Sunrise.ch)

André Krause, the current chief financial officer, has been appointed as the new head of Switzerland's second-largest telecom company, Sunrise announced Friday. Swantee will continue to support him until the 2020 annual general meeting in April to "ensure a smooth leadership transition," according to a statement. Swantee served as Sunrise's CEO for nearly four years.

The new CEO Krause has been with Sunrise since 2011. As chief financial officer, he drove Sunrise's IPO and the subsequent sale of its cell towers, according to the release. Before joining Sunrise, the German national had been chief financial officer at Telefónica O2 Germany.

No information on Kurer successor

No details are given in the media release regarding the succession of Chairman Kurer, who will remain in office until April 2020. In addition to Kurer, Vice Chairman Peter Schöpfer will also not stand for re-election at the Annual General Meeting. The Board of Directors "regrets the decision," the release states.

Kurer has been chairman of the telecommunications company's board of directors since April 2016. In doing so, he has "successfully overseen the transformation of Sunrise," according to the statement. The departing Vice Chairman Schöpfer was, among other things, significantly involved in the IPO of Sunrise in 2015, according to the statement.

In recent months, Kurer has come under heavy criticism in connection with the unsuccessful UPC takeover. There has been repeated speculation in the media about his resignation and an ongoing search for a successor. Before his time at Sunrise, Kurer was known to the public as a member of the UBS Group Executive Board. In 2008/2009, he succeeded Marcel Ospel as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the major bank.

Shareholder resistance

In February 2019, Sunrise announced its intention to acquire cable network operator UPC Switzerland from Liberty Global for around CHF 6.3 billion. However, the purchase had met with massive resistance from shareholders, who had criticized the high purchase price in particular and opposed a capital increase.

Due to the lack of support from important shareholder circles, Sunrise management had to cancel an extraordinary shareholders' meeting in October for the capital increase. The purchase agreement with Liberty Global was then terminated in November. The costs for the failed deal amounted to 120 to 125 million francs for Sunrise. (SDA)