Genesco and Finish Line backer walks away
The ongoing saga over the merger of footwear retailers Genesco and the Finish Line has become even more complicated as Swiss bank UBS has now gone to court to seek permission to walk away from the deal.
The merger began to fall apart in August when Genesco reported a loss, which had not been expected by its prospective partner the Finish Line when it agreed the deal in June. The Finish Line decided to review its options, which resulted in Genesco filing a lawsuit in September seeking to force the Finish Line to complete the acquisition and UBS to fund it.
However, UBS has now applied to the court to release it from its responsibility to fund the deal, reportedly claiming that Genesco did not reveal its true financial situation prior to the deal being agreed. Genesco's chairman and chief executive Hal Pennington strongly denied this, stating, "Today, my management team and I have been accused of defrauding UBS. On behalf of our company, our management team and our employees, I categorically deny those claims."
