Cosmos, union reach deal on takeover

Cosmos Bank Taiwan (萬泰銀行) said yesterday that it had reached an agreement with its labor union to protect employees' interests ahead of the projected takeover by foreign investors led by SAC Private Capital Group LLC and GE Money.

Fang Yao-chun (方姚駿), head of the Cosmos labor union, said the agreement showed the greatest sincerity by Cosmos' management, SAC and GE.

Under the agreement, Cosmos will provide additional benefits for employees and will establish a committee to manage personnel issues, the Taipei-based lender said in a statement yesterday.

The benefits include a performance bonus for this year and an early retirement plan, the bank said.

It will protect existing salaries and benefits and guarantee at least an 85 percent employee retention rate, Cosmos said.

The agreement is subject to ratification by all union members, but the deal will smooth the lender's recapitalization plan, Cosmos spokesman and vice president Shih Kung-liang (施坤良) said by phone yesterday.

In September, SAC and GE announced they would inject US$900 million (NT$29.7 billion) in Cosmos in exchange for a controlling 80 percent stake in the bank.

As of Wednesday, about 93.8 percent of the lender's bondholders had agreed to change their debt holdings into equities in Cosmos as part of the recapitalization plan.

Cosmos has about 3,000 employees based in 63 branches nationwide.