December 04, 2024

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The headquarters of Mirae Asset Securities in Seoul (Mirae Asset Securities)

South Korean brokerage Mirae Asset Securities announced on Thursday that it has completed the acquisition of Indian brokerage house Sharekhan Limited, marking a significant milestone in its Indian operations.

It marks the first time a Korean company has acquired an Indian brokerage firm. Mirae Asset achieved this in just six years since entering the Indian market in 2017.

The acquisition follows the Korean brokerage's stake purchase agreement with Sharekhan Limited, signed last December. Since then, Mirae Asset secured necessary approvals for the acquisition from India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

According to its regulatory filing, Mirae Asset Securities now holds full

ownership of Sharekhan, with the Korean parent company owning 27.4 percent and its Indian subsidiary holding the remaining 72.6 percent.

The newly merged entity, rebranded as Mirae Asset Sharekhan, aims to rank among India's top five brokerages within the next five years.

Founded in 2000, Sharekhan is currently the 10th-largest securities brokerage in India, boasting over 3.1 million users and a network of 120 branches supported by 4,400 business partners. Mirae Asset plans to leverage Sharekhan’s strong local presence to expand its wealth management services in India while creating synergies through the global expertise of Mirae Asset Financial Group and its subsidiaries.

Central to this achievement is Mirae Asset Financial Group's founder and Chairman, Park Hyeon-joo. As the group's global strategy officer, Park has been instrumental in driving its global expansion. His leadership has seen the acquisition of Global X, a leading thematic exchange-traded fund provider in the US, in 2018, followed by Global X Australia in 2022. In 2023, the group further extended its global reach with the acquisitions of Australian online investment advisor Stockspot and GHCO, a specialized market maker in the UK ETF market.

The group entered India in 2006 with its asset management arm, Mirae Asset Global Investments, establishing its first office in Mumbai and commencing operations two years later. Within six years, the subsidiary became the nation’s ninth-largest asset manager, overseeing customer assets worth 32 trillion won ($23 billion).

According to Mirae Asset Securities' corporate value enhancement plan, the firm projected its global operations to yield over 100 billion won in annual profits following this year’s Sharekhan acquisition. With 40 percent of its equity allocated globally, it aims to surpass 500 billion won in pretax profits from global operations annually by 2027.

“The acquisition of Sharekhan underscores Mirae Asset's strong commitment to establishing India as a core market. Leveraging the global expertise of Mirae Asset Financial Group, we aim to provide new opportunities for wealth creation to the Indian people,” a Mirae Asset Securities official said.

By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)