By Tracy Qu
Shares of brokerage Bright Smart Securities & Commodities Group surged to a record high after Alibaba affiliate Ant Group took a majority stake in the company.
Bright Smart stock jumped 90% as it resumed trading on Monday in Hong Kong, climbing to a peak of 6.00 Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to 77 U.S. cents, before paring gains.
This followed news on Friday that Ant Group, the operator of the hugely popular mobile payments platform Alipay, had acquired a roughly 50.55% stake in Bright Smart for US$362.8 million.
The HK$3.28-a-share price tag represented a premium of about 18% over the stock's price before trade was halted Wednesday, according to a filing on Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday.
Ant said in the filing that it firmly believes in the long-term development of China's economy and Hong Kong's economy, and believes in generating great market opportunities via the combination of technology and wealth management.
Ant was fined close to $1 billion by China's financial regulators in 2023 for issues including violating laws and regulations when it conducted banking and insurance activities. This came after Beijing scuttled its blockbuster initial public offerings in Hong Kong and Shanghai in late 2020.
Founded in 1995, Bright Smart offers securities trading, stock futures and options trading, and other services. The company went public in Hong Kong in 2010.
Write to Tracy Qu at tracy.qu@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 28, 2025 02:52 ET (06:52 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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