Mumbai: French bank BNP Paribas SA on 30th July, announced the acquisition of Sharekhan Ltd, one of the earliest brokerage houses in India.
“BNP Paribas announces that an agreement has been reached with the company’s shareholders for BNP Paribas SA to acquire 100% of Sharekhan,” the bank said in a press release. The valuation for the deal was not announced.
The bank added that Sharekhan will join BNP Paribas’ Personal Investors division, which is engaged in retail brokerage and digital banking services with 1.7 million clients in Europe.
The deal has been under negotiation for close to six months and had seen interest from bulge bracket private equity firms like Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic. Domestic banks like IndusInd Bank Ltd too had expressed interest, but later withdrew from the race.
Existing shareholders in Sharekhan include Citi Venture Capital International, Barings Asia Private Equity, IDFC and Samara Capital.
With 7% market share in terms of number of accounts, Sharekhan is the first independent and third retail brokerage firm in India, said the press release.
“We are very pleased to welcome all Sharekhan staff and clients into our group. Sharekhan will serve as a platform for the group’s strategy in India to offer a comprehensive range of products from pure brokerage to asset-based investment services including mutual funds and savings products,” said Joris Dierckx, country head of BNP Paribas India.
The post BNP Paribas to acquire brokerage firm Sharekhan appeared first on Estrade | Corporate India News.