Mirae Asset Securities acquires European ETF market maker GHCO

Mirae Asset Securities UK, the UK corporation of South Korea's Mirae Asset Securities, announced on Monday that it has acquired GHCO, a market-making specialist for European exchange-traded funds (ETF). 

This is the first time in which a overseas corporation of a South Korean securities has acquired a local financial company in an industrialized country.

Mirae Asset Securities UK signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) for the acquisition of GHCO on Dec. 6 last year and received approval for the merger from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Hellenic Capital Market Commission, the Greek financial watchdog.

Mirae Asset Securities emphasized that it will enter the European ETF market, which is the second largest in the world after the US, through this acquisition.

GHCO, a local ETF market maker, was founded in 2005 and has its own market-making system. It provides market-making services to 18 ETF managers, including BlackRock and 2,000 ETF products, supplying on-exchange liquidity.

Mirae Asset Securities emphasized that its global ETF assets under management (AUM) have grown from 10 trillion won ($7.47billion) in 2017 when it acquired Global X to 135 trillion won ($100.82 billion) at the end of last year, and that its ETF business competitiveness will be further enhanced through this acquisition.

"Based on GHCO's technical capabilities and Mirae Asset's infrastructure, we will contribute to the construction of the group's global ETF ecosystem," CEO of Mirae Asset Securities London Kim Seung-wook said.

The latest acquisition is a significant move by Mirae Asset Securities to expand its global footprint and strengthen its position in the ETF market. The company is well positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for ETFs in Europe, and this acquisition will help it to achieve its goal of becoming a leading global ETF provider.

Write to Man-Su Choe at bebop@hankyung.com