CIMB Group to buy Sicco Securities

The price equates to Bt1.72 per share or a price to book ratio of 1.17 time. Sicco Securities is a publicly listed stockbroking company with 13 branches and employs 269 staff.
 The purchase is carried out via CIMB Group’s wholly-owned indirect subsidiary, CIMB Securities International Pte Ltd (CSI), CIMBGH said in a statement.
 Under Thai laws, upon completion of the proposed acquisition, CSI will be required to conduct a mandatory tender offer to acquire all the remaining shares in Sicco Securities that it does not already own.
 “This acquisition strengthens our broking platform on the SET, one of the most attractive markets in ASEAN. We are consistently among the top 3 brokers in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, and aim to be in a leading position in Thailand in the next few years,” said Dato’ Charon Wardini Mokhzani, chief executive officer designate, CIMB Investment Bank.
  “This acquisition is expected to at least double our market share and take us further towards our target of being among the top 5 players in the Thai securities market. We will also look for opportunities for synergies between this new platform and CIMB Thai Bank Plc,” he added.
 Last week, Siam Commercial Bank which just completed the tender offer for Sicco announced that it would launch a mandatory tender offer for Sicco Securities.