Credit Suisse First Boston's arrival on the scene was central to the €7.9bn ($6.7bn) revised bid by Schneider, the French electrical equipment manufacturer, for competitor Legrand, which has rocked both companies' share prices on Friday.

Schneider hired CSFB in May to re-examine its original offer for Legrand, on which Rothschild was the sole financial advisor. The Paris appeals court blocked Schneider's original offer at the beginning of May, ruling that the offer to owners of Legrand ADP shares - similar to preference shares - was too low.