MUMBAI: Global banking major, Standard Chartered said on Thursday that its subsidiary, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) has agreed to acquire leading financial services firm, Cazenove Asia from JPMorgan Cazenove for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition, which is subjected to regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2009. As per the agreement, StanChart will acquire 100 per cent stake in the brokerage, the bank said in a statement issued here.
"Standard Chartered is investing where we see opportunities to grow our businesses...Cazenove Asia has a strong management team and the business is a great cultural and geographic fit for us," Standard Chartered's Asia CEO Jaspal Bindra said.
A member of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Cazenove has offices in New York, London, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. In the Asian region, the company is mainly engaged in corporate finance and equity sales, trading and research for institutional clients.
Since 1997, the company has been a part of 218 transactions valued at over USD 98-billion on behalf of clients in the region, the company said.
The acquisition is expected to give a strong equity markets platform to StanChart to offer its clients financing, distribution, equity research and enhanced advisory capabilities, the bank said.
"This strategic move represents a further step in building out our equity capital markets capability following investment in UTI Securities in India and the establishment of Stan Chart securities in Korea," StanChart's Group Head, Corporate Finance Sean Wallace said.
StanChart has around 1,750 branches and outlets located in over 70 countries and has seen more than 90 per cent of its operating income coming from Asia, Africa and the Middle East, generated from its wholesale and consumer banking businesses.
