March 24 (Reuters) – Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is working on plans for a possible takeover of U.S. investment bank Jefferies, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
Jefferies shares rose 6% in trading in Frankfurt after the FT report.
SMFG has tasked a team with making sure it is ready to act if Jefferies’ falling share price presents an opportunity, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Its stock price has fallen over 36% so far this year, following deep declines last year when a unit linked to Jefferies’ asset management arm was embroiled in the bankruptcy of U.S. auto parts supplier First Brands.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Jefferies did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while SMFG was not immediately available for a comment.
Any move by Japan’s SMFG is not imminent, the report said, adding that there is no certainty if Jefferies executives would be willing to sell at a depressed share price.
Jefferies, an independent investment bank that competes with some of Wall Street’s biggest names, has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, according to LSEG data. SMFG has a market cap about $124 billion.
Jefferies has come under sharp scrutiny over its lending standards and risk appetite after the collapses of British lender Market Financial Solutions and First Brands.
Investors are suing the investment bank, alleging the firm defrauded them into investing in a fund linked to First Brands, which owed Jefferies’ Leucadia Asset Management arm about $715 million of receivables.
(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
