China Securities, one of the top three brokerages in China, has acquired 37 stock trading departments from trust and investment companies for 180 million yuan (about HK$167.76 million) to boost its presence.
The brokerage, known as Huaxia on the mainland, said the departments were mainly in east, northeast and northwest China, where its presence was weak.
A Huaxia official said the purchases, subject to People's Bank of China (PBOC) approval, would boost the brokerage's position as a leading player in the mainland securities market.
He said it was too early to say how much business the 37 trading offices would bring in.
The move brings the number of Huaxia trading offices to 87, ranking it third biggest after Shenyin & Wanguo Securities and Haitong Securities.
Shenyin & Wanguo, after a merger last year between Shenyin Securities and Shanghai International Securities, is the country's largest brokerage.
It has more than 100 stock trading branches and an asset base of 13 billion yuan.