After a year-long wait, Ant Group's acquisition of Phillip Securities approved, no wonder the stock price moved ahead of schedule

Cailian Press, March 17 — (Reporter Yan Jun) After nearly a year of regulatory waiting, the most decisive moment has arrived for Ant Group’s acquisition of Hong Kong’s established brokerage, Yau Tsim Securities, with a 50.55% stake.

On the evening of March 16, Yau Tsim Securities Financial announced that the tender offer initiated by Ant Group has been approved by relevant Chinese authorities, with settlement expected to be completed by March 30. This marks the completion of the most critical step in the acquisition process. The announcement also stated that the company’s stock, which was briefly suspended on March 16, will resume trading on March 17.

On April 25, 2025, Ant Group, through its subsidiary Shanghai Yunjin Information Technology Co., Ltd., launched a tender offer to Yau Tsim Securities at HKD 3.28 per share, aiming to acquire approximately 50.55% of the company’s shares, totaling HKD 2.814 billion.

Industry insiders note that completing the acquisition of Yau Tsim Securities will further strengthen Ant’s wealth management ecosystem.

According to regulations in both jurisdictions, Ant’s tender offer requires approval. On September 23, 2025, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) approved the deal, valid until March 23, 2026. The announcement also indicated that the approval from the Hong Kong SFC has been extended to April 30.

Ant’s acquisition of Hong Kong broker approved, settlement expected by month-end

This year-long acquisition process began on April 25, 2025. At that time, Ant Group, via its affiliate Shanghai Yunjin Information Technology Co., Ltd., through its Ant Fortune platform, officially launched a tender offer for Yau Tsim Securities. The offer was set at HKD 3.28 per share, aiming to acquire about 50.55% of Yau Tsim’s total shares, with a total transaction value of HKD 2.814 billion.

This offer represented a premium of approximately 17.6% over Yau Tsim’s closing price of HKD 2.79 on April 22, and an 18.8% premium over the average closing price of the previous 30 trading days, demonstrating Ant Group’s firm commitment to acquiring this Hong Kong-listed brokerage.

In the second half of 2025, amid subtle changes in the macro regulatory environment, market rumors circulated. In August of that year, media reports citing sources suggested that due to tightening regulatory scrutiny, Ant’s acquisition of Yau Tsim Securities might face significant delays or even be shelved. This news triggered market panic, causing Yau Tsim’s stock price to fluctuate. In response, Yau Tsim Securities quickly issued a clarification, emphasizing that “the relevant procedures with authorities regarding the acquisition are proceeding as planned.”

The real test lies in regulatory approval in both jurisdictions. Under regulations, such cross-border mergers require approval from both the Hong Kong SFC and relevant mainland Chinese authorities. On September 23, 2025, the Hong Kong SFC completed its approval, issuing a license valid until March 23, 2026. However, approval from mainland authorities is more complex, involving multiple steps including filings with the National Development and Reform Commission.

As the original deadline approached, approval had not yet been fully obtained. On November 25, 2025, Yau Tsim Securities announced that it had signed a revised agreement with Ant Group, extending the final transaction deadline from February 25, 2026, to March 25, 2026. The agreement also increased the escrow deposit from HKD 140 million to HKD 164 million. The announcement clarified that the extension was mainly due to reporting procedures with regulators and the holiday period in the first quarter of 2026, requiring additional time to meet the conditions.

Yau Tsim Securities also revealed that Ant Group had paid the full HKD 164 million escrow deposit.

Market intuition remains sharp. Although the official announcement was only made on the evening of the 16th, capital had already acted in advance. On March 13, Yau Tsim’s stock suddenly surged in volume, with the price rising as much as 42% to HKD 9.87, hitting a four-month high. Daily trading volume surged to nearly HKD 2.5 billion, and market capitalization briefly exceeded HKD 16 billion. By the close of that day, Yau Tsim’s stock had gained 33.96%, closing at HKD 9.27.

This abnormal fluctuation was widely interpreted by the market as an early bet on the approval of the acquisition.

Completing the Wealth Map, Ant Reshapes a New “Tech + Brokerage” Ecosystem

Why is Ant Group willing to spend over a year overcoming numerous challenges to acquire Yau Tsim Securities?

Yau Tsim Securities was founded by Ye Maolin in 1995. As early as 2003, when the government abolished the minimum commission system, the company proactively reduced its commission rate from 0.25% to 0.05%, becoming Hong Kong’s “lowest commission broker,” and establishing its reputation as a leading electronic trading platform. After listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2010, Yau Tsim Securities has been deeply involved in Hong Kong stock trading, margin financing, futures and options, and leveraged forex, maintaining steady performance.

According to its financial report released in November 2025, for the six months ending September 30, 2025, the company’s revenue increased by 10.72% year-over-year to HKD 497 million, and net profit grew by 4.77% to HKD 327 million. On March 9 of this year, Yau Tsim Securities was included in the Hong Kong Stock Connect, further boosting liquidity and attention.

Industry experts point out that acquiring Yau Tsim Securities will give Ant a comprehensive securities license in Hong Kong, filling gaps in its cross-border finance capabilities, especially in securities trading and asset management.

Relying on Alipay’s massive user base, Ant Group has established a dominant position in fund sales and insurance technology. The Ant Fortune platform has partnered with about 150 asset management institutions nationwide, serving hundreds of millions of users with diversified products including Yu’e Bao, bond funds, and equity funds. However, in core securities trading, especially in Hong Kong and overseas markets, Ant lacks its own licensed brokerage entity.

“As a business without a brokerage license, it can only partner with third-party brokerages for referrals, which limits compliance, data integration, and profit retention,” said an industry insider. The acquisition of Yau Tsim Securities addresses this pain point. The brokerage not only holds a mature Hong Kong trading license and a broad range of services (including margin financing, futures and options, forex, gold, etc.), but also has extensive local operational experience and a stable customer base.

Yau Tsim Securities clearly articulated its strategic intent in the announcement: “This cooperation will drive future business growth and promote the digital transformation of Yau Tsim Securities.” Although known as an “electronic trading platform,” the company still lags behind internet giants in cutting-edge technologies like AI, big data risk control, and smart investment advisory. The announcement mentioned that the company hopes to leverage Ant’s technological backing to become a leading trading platform.

Yau Tsim Securities also indicated that future capital allocation strategies might be adjusted. Previously, the company focused on returning value to shareholders through dividends. The partnership with Ant provides an opportunity to re-balance its strategy, aiming to “balance short-term shareholder returns with maximizing long-term shareholder value.” This suggests that Yau Tsim Securities may reinvest more profits into its business, strengthening technological infrastructure and risk management to create a safer, better, and faster platform for clients.

More importantly, for Ant Wealth, this acquisition is a practical implementation of the “technology empowering wealth management” concept.

At the outset of acquiring Yau Tsim Securities, Ant Wealth expressed confidence in China’s and Hong Kong’s long-term economic prospects and the huge market opportunities brought by integrating technology with wealth management. By controlling Yau Tsim Securities, Ant can replicate its mature digital operations experience in China to the Hong Kong market, using it as a springboard to expand into Southeast Asia and the global Chinese investment community.

(Reporter Yan Jun, Cailian Press)