Mirae Asset to cut purchase price of Daewoo Securities by W55b

Mirae Asset Financial Group has cut its purchase price of KDB Daewoo Securities by 55 billion won ($46.3 million) to 2.33 trillion won, local reports said Tuesday.

Mirae Asset will sign Friday a final contract with Korea Development Bank to take over a controlling 43 percent stake in KDB Daewoo, they said. The company is said to have demanded the price cut after a closer look at Daewoo’s overseas network and real-estate assets in Korea.

KDB Daewoo is the country’s second-largest brokerage house, with 4.3 trillion won in assets. By acquiring it, Mirae Asset will rise to be an overwhelming leader in Korea’s fragmented brokerage industry, with combined assets approaching 8 trillion won.

Mirae Asset had initially proposed 2.385 trillion won for the stake, well above the 2.1 trillion won-2.2 trillion won that its competitors were said to have penciled in.

The deal is subject to a review by the Financial Supervisory Service which will look into the eligibility of Mirae Asset as the largest shareholder of a securities company.

If cleared by the regulator, the group hopes to complete the transaction within next month.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)