UBS, Switzerland's largest financial institution, has agreed to acquire Credit Suisse (CS), a global investment bank in crisis in the aftermath of the bankruptcy of U.S. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), for more than $20 billion.

Britain's Financial Times (FT) reported yesterday local time that UBS had offered a price of more than 0.5 Swiss francs per share, and the two sides had reached an agreement.

That's over $20 billion in total.

UBS had earlier reportedly offered 0.25 Swiss francs per share, a total of $10 billion, during negotiations, but CS turned them down.

As of the close on Dec. 17, CS's price per share was CHF 1.86.

In dollar terms, the market capitalization is about $80 billion.

In addition, the Swiss National Bank has agreed to provide $1 billion in liquidity.

Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, CS is one of the world's nine largest investment banks with a history of 167 years.

The financial structure has deteriorated amid a series of recent investment failures, and market volatility has increased in the aftermath of SVB's bankruptcy, leading to crisis theories.

It has been feared that the collapse of CS will have a huge impact on the global economy that cannot be compared to the bankruptcies of small and medium-sized banks such as SVB, which have operated in niche markets centered on Silicon Valley technology companies.

As a result, U.S. financial authorities have been working with Swiss authorities to reach a deal on the acquisition.

The Swiss government has also been proactive in settling takeover negotiations later in the day, before Asian stock markets open.

To this end, it was also proposed to omit the holding of the shareholders' meeting, which is essential for the final approval of the negotiations.

In addition, there are local reports that if the negotiations break down, they are considering fully or partially nationalizing CS.