Ant Group Acquisition of Yao Cai Securities Approved! Stock Surges 82% Once

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Ant Group’s acquisition of Yau Tai Securities Financial Group Limited (Yau Tai Securities, 01428.HK, hereafter “Yau Tai Securities”) has been approved. The company’s stock resumed trading on March 17 and surged, reaching over 82% intraday.

As of the midday close on March 17, Yau Tai Securities’ stock price increased by 65.91%, to HKD 15.38. Its latest market capitalization is HKD 26.104 billion.

On March 16, Yau Tai Securities announced that the tender offer initiated by Ant Group has received regulatory approval and is expected to settle by March 30. This marks the completion of the most critical step in the acquisition process.

Yau Tai Securities stated that, as part of the acquisition by Ant Group, all transaction conditions have been met. The announcement mentioned that the company’s stock was briefly suspended on the 16th and will resume trading from the market open on the 17th.

The announcement also disclosed that the approval validity period from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has been extended to April 30, providing ample time for settlement.

On April 25, 2025, Yau Tai Securities announced that Shanghai Yunjin Information Technology Co., Ltd. (“Shanghai Yunjin”), through its subsidiary Wealthiness and Prosperity Holding Limited, launched a tender offer to acquire Yau Tai Securities at HKD 3.28 per share. Shanghai Yunjin is also a shareholder of Ant Fortune.

The announcement at that time showed that both parties had signed a share purchase agreement on April 25, 2025, acquiring approximately 858 million shares, representing about 50.55% of the issued shares, for a total cash consideration of HKD 2.814 billion, with a 10% deposit paid. The offer price of HKD 3.28 per share was about 17.6% premium over Yau Tai Securities’ last closing price of HKD 2.79 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Yau Tai Securities stated that the reasons for this tender offer included strengthening its position as a leading local retail broker in Hong Kong; accelerating digital transformation; readjusting capital allocation strategies for future growth; and providing immediate liquidity to shareholders with an attractive premium.

In October 2025, the acquisition received approval from the Hong Kong SFC, allowing Ant to become the major shareholder of four regulated subsidiaries of Yau Tai Securities. On November 25, 2025, the parties amended the agreement, extending the deadline to March 25, 2026, and increasing the deposit to HKD 164 million. The announcement noted that this extension mainly considered reporting procedures with regulators and the holiday period in the first quarter of 2026, requiring additional time to meet conditions.

According to official information, Yau Tai Securities was founded by Ye Maolin in 1995 and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2010. The company mainly provides financial services through four business segments: securities brokerage, commodities and futures brokerage, precious metals trading, and leveraged forex trading.

The company is known for its low commission strategy, earning the nickname “King of Low Commissions.” Its 2025/2026 interim report shows that as of September 2025, it had over 600,000 clients, with client assets (including cash, stocks, and margin) increasing by 34.4% year-over-year to approximately HKD 86.3 billion. In recent years, Yau Tai Securities has maintained steady performance. For the six months ending September 30, 2025, the group’s revenue was HKD 496.9 million, up 10.7% from the same period last year; net profit attributable to shareholders was HKD 326.9 million, up 4.8%; and earnings per share were HKD 19.26 cents, a 4.79% increase year-over-year.

Donghai Securities’ previous research report pointed out that, in terms of business qualifications, Yau Tai Securities holds licenses No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9 in Hong Kong, covering Hong Kong stocks, US stocks, Shanghai-Hong Kong and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, margin financing, and futures trading. Compared to Futu Holdings and Tiger Securities, its licenses are similar and sufficient to meet Ant Group’s strategic needs for full business operations in Hong Kong. The Ant Fortune platform, connected to over 150 asset management institutions and a rich range of financial products, can complement Yau Tai Securities’ stock trading, asset management, and derivatives businesses. Coupled with Ant Group’s over one billion users, this is expected to further increase market share and gradually build a wealth management ecosystem with deep customer resource mining and a diversified product matrix.