Western Securities, a medium-sized Chinese brokerage based in northwest Shaanxi province, plans to take a controlling stake in smaller rival Guorong Securities.
The deal will be funded by cash, Western Securities said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Friday, lifting its shares 8.1 per cent higher to 6.98 yuan and taking its gains for the year to 9.6 per cent. Guorong Securities is not listed.
“Mergers and acquisitions will drive the re-rating of the industry, particularly among [highly] competitive players,” said Luo Zuanhui, an analyst at Shenwang Hongyuan Group in Shanghai. “We are positive on the sector because of the capital market reforms and ongoing industry consolidation.”
China has been revving up the pace of consolidation in its 12 trillion yuan (US$1.65 trillion) brokerage industry after the State Council in April unveiled a goal to nurture two to three securities firms that can compete with global giants as part of its capital market reform.
State-backed Guolian Securities and Zheshang Securities disclosed their plans to take control of smaller peers earlier this year. Guolian Securities said it would acquire Minsheng Securities in a deal that would be financed by new share sales of 2 billion yuan, while Zheshang Securities is close to completing its acquisition of a 34 per cent stake in Guodu Securities.
Huachuang Securities and Ping An Securities are also working on separate merger plans.
China’s brokerage industry trails its Western counterparts despite the nation having the world’s second-largest stock market. The market capitalisation and profit of Citic Securities, China’s biggest brokerage, are about a fifth of Morgan Stanley, the largest investment bank in the US.
The acquisition plan does not involve transactions with affiliated parties or massive asset restructuring, Western Securities said in the statement, adding that the deal will not have a material impact on the company’s normal business operations.
First-quarter profit for Western Securities fell by 45 per cent from a year earlier, compared with the average 32 per cent profit decline for the industry amid falling revenue from underwriting businesses because of regulatory curbs on new stock sales.