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EFG International, a Zurich-headquartered private banker and wealth manager, has acquired a 75 per cent stake in Mumbai-based Stratcap Securities India (SSI), a company involved in managing individual and institutional client relationships in mutual funds, fixed income and equities. The stake is being bought from SSI's parent Strategic Capital Corporation, majority owned by its founder, Atul Sud. The company is a registered merchant banker with SEBI.
The transaction is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2008, subject to regulatory approval. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Stratcap Securities will be rechristened EFG Wealth Management India, and Sud will be its chairman. Shankar Dey, who has held senior roles at Citibank and NM Rothschild, will join as the company's chief executive officer. According to a press release by EFG, the transaction is in keeping with its strategic goal of capitalising on new growth markets.
Of late, a number of international players have been going aggressive on India's financial services space. Late last year, French bank BNP Paribas acquired a 33.35 per cent stake in Kerala-based Geojit Financial Services for Rs 207 crore. More recently, Merrill Lynch acquired a stake in Bluechip Corporate Investment Centre, a Mumbai-headquartered financial products distribution house. Doha Bank recently acquired a stake in Kochi-based Select Securities. This is besides more than a dozen private equity deals in the space.

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