Saxo Bank has received notification from the Danish FSA about the final approval on part of the regulator of the majority stake purchase by Chinese investor Geely. The company, associated with Chinese billionaire Li Shufu, has announced its CEO Kim Fournais will retain a 25.71 percent stake in the venture.
In October 2017, Saxo Bank announced that following an initial purchase, Geely Group offered to buy a majority stake in the Danish Multi-Asset brokerage. Finish Sampo Group offered to take up a stake of 19.9 percent of the Bank. At the time, both transactions were pending regulatory approvals from the Danish FSA.
The Founder and CEO of Saxo Bank, Kim Fournais, commented: “It is very positive that Geely has received approval from the Danish FSA to take up a majority stake in Saxo Bank. We look forward to receiving the remaining approvals to close the deal. We expect to have the final approvals within the next months.”
Geely and Sampo will acquire all of the shares of Lars Seier Christensen, TPG Capital, and SinarMas after the final approval of the deal in the coming months.
Strategic Investment at a Key Time
With the growing importance of the Far East for the brokerage industry, the Chinese investment into Saxo Bank is securing the company a level playing field in the region. Local authorities are known for their rigorous approach when it comes to allowing foreign companies to operate in China.
The deal which Geely and Saxo Bank shareholders entered into is securing local representation of the interests of the company at a high level of the Chinese government. The Chairman of Geely, Li Shufu, has been one of the main industrialists in the country, founding Geely Automobile in 1986. He has since acquired Volvo Cars and is holding almost 10 percent in German automaker Daimler.
As a testament to the increasing focus of the group in the Far East, last month Saxo Bank appointed a new CEO for its Greater China division, headquartered in Hong Kong. The firm is committed to continue developing the market working in a shifting regulatory landscape towards financial institutions that are offering products to retail traders in China.
