Jefferies has approved Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group increasing its stake in the US investment bank to 20 per cent, according to people familiar with the matter, as the Japanese group ratchets up its efforts to expand abroad.
Japan’s second-biggest bank took a 5 per cent stake in Jefferies in 2021, before agreeing to raise it to roughly 15 per cent in 2023, in an effort to compete with larger rivals at home and overseas.
Jefferies’ board has now agreed the stake can be lifted to closer to 20 per cent, with SMFG planning to buy more of its shares on the open market, according to two people familiar with the matter. Those shares could then be swapped into non-voting common or preference shares.