Get Nice approved to buy securities group
Brokerage trading firm Get Nice Holdings yesterday secured shareholders' approval to acquire a financial securities group from Thomas Lau Luen-hung, chairman of Chinese Estates Holdings, for $262 million.
Get Nice chairman George Hung Hon-man said that the acquisition of Steppington Financial would broaden the company's customer base and strengthen its market presence in Hong Kong.
Steppington Financial, consisting of 13 companies including Pacific Challenge Securities, engages in securities dealing and futures and options brokerage as well as securities margin financing and property holding.
The deal will be partly financed by the issue of $80 million convertible bond.
The balance will be paid for with $87.5 million in cash and the assumption of Steppington's $94.5 million loan.
For the year to March, Steppington recorded after-tax profit of $11.91 million, up 80.3 per cent from a year ago.
Mr Hung said the company had no immediate plan to expand into Macau.
Shares of Get Nice rose 3.97 per cent to $1.57 yesterday.
