London-headquartered commodities broker Marex is set to acquire Abu Dhabi-based Aarna Capital Limited to expand its operations in the Middle East and strengthen its clearing business.
Marex says the takeover aligns with its core strategy to broaden its client base, diversify operations, and enhance earnings resilience.
Aarna Capital specializes in clearing, execution, and risk management solutions across energy, metals, and financial markets such as equities, fixed income, and FX. The acquisition provides Marex access to around 180 local clients, including institutional investors, family offices, and corporate clients.
This deal complements Marex’s existing operations in the Middle East, particularly its 60-employee team in Dubai. The acquisition is expected to contribute nearly five percent of Marex’s profit after tax by 2025, with day one synergies boosting the firm’s bottom line.
Marex’s CEO, Ian Lowitt said: “The Middle East region is an important growth opportunity for us, this acquisition will give us a presence in Abu Dhabi and will expand our clients and capabilities in the region. We are very excited about the potential of this acquisition, which will bring new clients to our platform and allow us to grow our clearing business, which is at the heart of our strategy to connect clients to markets.”
He added: “This acquisition meets our strict financial criteria and is at an attractive valuation, representing three to four times expected profit after tax. We also retain some firepower from the capital raised in our IPO to support further growth investments, as we look to continue to expand and diversify our business.”
The transaction is set to close in late 2024, pending regulatory approval.
Marex seeks to debut on the New York stock market, following its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The company is reportedly targeting a valuation between $2.2 billion and $2.8 billion, well higher than its previous London Stock Exchange listing attempt in 2021.
Private equity group JRJ, along with partners Trilantic Europe and BXR Group, have held the majority stake in Marex for over a decade and are looking to profit from the listing. The company employs around 1,800 people and is among the exclusive group of eight brokers permitted to trade on the historic London Metal Exchange trading floor.
