CITIC Securities acquires stakes in US brokerage

CITIC Securities Co, China's largest securities company by market value, has acquired stakes in US brokerage BTIG LLC in its latest step to expand its overseas business via acquisition of Western firms.

The scale of the acquisition and other details have not yet been revealed, Bloomberg reported Monday, while quoting BTIG's co-founder Steve Starker as saying the funds raised via the transfer would be used to strengthen the company's research capability and banking businesses.

The transaction was carried out by CITIC's Hong Kong subsidiary CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, which was purchased from Credit Agricole for $1.25 billion in 2013, in the first major acquisition of a foreign investment bank by a Chinese securities firm.

BTIG employs 450 people in the United States and four other locations globally, and offers services in stocks, financial derivatives, futures and commodities.

CITIC Securities Co is listed in both Shanghai and Hong Kong, and is 20-percent held by China's State-owned giant Citic Group Co.

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