Masterlink Securities Corp plans buy two closely held brokerages in southern Taiwan, Masterlink sources said yesterday.
The brokerage, which trades on the Over-the-Counter market and has 28 branches in Taiwan, plans to buy Chia Heir Securities Co and Yung Sheng Securities Co, two smaller brokerages based in southern Taiwan.
As a result of the mergers, Masterlink will have 43 branches and a capitalization worth roughly NT$10.54 billion, the source said.
Masterlink will trade one of its shares for every 1.63 shares of Chia Heir. Yuen Sheng will get one Masterlink share for every 1.36 of its shares. The transaction is expected to be completed within six months.
Both Chia Heir and Yueng Sheng belong to the Chia Heir Group, which also has interests in textiles.
The combined brokerage company will have an estimated 500,000 customers. In addition, the broker will be Taiwan's second-largest by turnover volume.
Masterlink shares yesterday climbed the daily 7 percent limit NT$1.9 to NT$29.70, on reports that a merger announcement was in the offing. Later reports said company officials had denied the speculation.
In November, Yuanta Securities Co said it would merge with Core Pacific Securities Corp.
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