- $20 million Indian acquisition
- Largest retail trading market
- Boost to group’s global futures market
Global fintech and trading platform Plus500 (PLUS) has agreed to acquire Indian financial services company Mehta Equities for approximately $20 million in cash.
Investors welcomed the news, sending shares in the FTSE 250 company up 34p or 1.25% to £27.56, taking year to date gains to 8% compared with a 3.4% loss for the mid-cap index.
WHAT DID THE COMPANY SAY?
CEO David Zruia commented: ‘We are thrilled to announce this acquisition in India, which marks a significant milestone in our global expansion strategy.
‘By combining Plus500’s cutting-edge technology with Mehta’s local presence and expertise, we aim to accelerate growth and unlock new opportunities in this dynamic and fast-growing market.’
India is the world’s largest retail trading market with over 150 billion contracts traded in 2024, representing 75% of global transaction volume. The Indian economy is one of the largest and fastest growing economies with well established domestic trading markets.
COMPELLING OPPORTUNITY
The company believes the acquisition will expand the group’s scale while providing a ‘compelling’ opportunity to strengthen its global futures offering through ‘holistic’ execution services to both institutional and retail customers.
The purchase will also expand Plus500’s offering to include various Indian financial products such as cash equities, options, wealth management and other local financial services.
Mehta is operated by an experienced management team and led by founder Rakesh Mehta, who will remain with the business post completion which is subject to regulatory approvals.
SHAREHOLDER RETURNS
The acquisition will be funded from existing cash resources which totalled $890 million at the end of December 2024.
In 2024, Plus500 announced shareholder returns of $360.5 million comprising a share buyback of $210 million and dividends of $150.5 million.
Accompanying full year results on 18 February, the company announced a new $200 million shareholder return target for 2025 comprised of a $110 million share buyback and total dividends of $90 million.
