In a move to add more strength to the existing financial services business of the Aditya Birla group, its group entity, Aditya Birla Nuvo, on Thursday made the announcement that ti has acquired 56% stakes in Apollo Sindhoori Capital Investments (ASCIL) from the Chennai-based Reddy family. The cost for each share was fixed at Rs 64, making total of Rs 198.8 crore. A 20% open offer will be shortly launched by the Birla Company for the ASCIL shareholders at the similar price.

About 10% of shares in ASCIL will still be acquired by the Reddy family, but no representation on the ASCIL board will be made for them. If open offer is fully subscribed, the total acquisition cost will be Rs 270 crore.

The business group will see its re-entry in the stock broking through this acquisition. The company had withdrawn out of broking after it sold its Birla Sun Life Securities, JV with Canada’s Sun Life, for just Rs 12 crore five years ago.

“The acquisition will provide us an excellent platform to leverage our combined strength in the financial services space. We already have a strong presence across financial services verticals that include life insurance, fund management, distribution and wealth management, security-based lending, insurance broking and private equity. ASCIL offers us a well-established platform with a capable team that will integrate well into our existing business and further strengthen our presence,” informed Ajay Srinivasan, CEO of the Birla group’s financial services business.