CICC acquires rival for $2.5bn

China International Capital Corp is to acquire a rival brokerage as the Chinese investment bank seeks to revive its fortunes under a new chief executive, the Financial Times reports. CICC bought a 100% stake in China Investment Securities for $2.5bn. When CICC announced in July that it was in merger talks, analysts said that one motivation for the deal would be to clear the way for CICC to list in Shanghai. Beijing-based CICC raised $811m in a scaled-back Hong Kong initial public offering last October, but mainland rules forbid a single shareholder from owning controlling stakes in multiple mainland-listed securities companies. China Investment Securities is 100% owned by Central Huijin Investment, a unit of the country’s sovereign wealth fund used as a holding company for state-owned financial shares. Huijin also owns 28% of CICC.