CIMB Group to take 70% in Sicco Securities

The price equates to Bt1.72 per share or a price-to-book-value ratio of 1.17 times. Sicco Securities is a publicly listed stock-brokering company with 13 branches and employs 269 staff.
The purchase is carried out via CIMB Group’s wholly owned indirect subsidiary CIMB Securities International (CSI), the group said in a statement.
Under Thai laws, upon completion of the proposed acquisition, CSI will be required to make a mandatory tender offer to acquire all the remaining shares in Sicco Securities that it does not already own.
“This acquisition strengthens our brokering platform on the SET, one of the most attractive markets in Asean,” said Charon Wardini Mokhzani, chief executive officer-designate of CIMB Investment Bank. “We are consistently among the top three brokers in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, and aim to be in a leading position in Thailand in the next few years.
“This acquisition is expected at least to double our market share and take us further towards our target of being among the top five players in the Thai securities market. We will also look for opportunities for synergies between this new platform and CIMB Thai Bank,” he added.
Last week, Siam Commercial Bank, which had just completed the tender offer for Sicco, announced that it would launch a mandatory tender offer for Sicco Securities. The bank now operates its own securities arm, SCB Securities.
CIMB Group, Malaysia’s second-largest financial services provider and one of Asean’s leading universal banking groups, is expanding its network in Thailand, which includes CIMB Thai Bank.