Sbc Cuts Deal For Purchase Of Dillon Read

Swiss Bank Corp.’s plans to buy Dillon Read & Co. underscores the pressure on foreign banks to expand on Wall Street to beat a global shake-out that will leave a few dominant securities players and spur cutthroat competition.

SBC said Thursday it will buy Dillon Read for $600 million and combine the venerable New York investment bank with its SBC Warburg unit to form a new investment bank called SBC Warburg Dillon Read. SBC now has a small presence on Wall Street.

The deal will give the Swiss-British bank a stronger foothold in the investment banking business in the critical U.S. market. It provides Dillon, a small but blueblood investment bank, with powerful capital and broader markets.

“The main thing here is it is a good strategic move on the part of SBC,” said Fred W. DeBussey, an analyst at Fitch Investors Service. “This gives them some additional firepower in North America.”