(18 January 2007 – Australia) US investment bank Lehman Brothers has entered the Australian market for the first time by agreeing to buy local brokerage firm Grange Securities for a reported A$120 million.As if to reinforce their seriousness about the Australian market, Lehman said it planned be a top five investment banks in Australia within five years.
Lehman has identified the high level of corporate activity in Asia and will use its new Australian base as a springboard to grow its presence in the region.
Lehman’s Asia chief executive Jesse Bhattal said the acquisition of Grange, which has some 100 staff in Australia, was a “beach-head” from which to grow a significant wealth management and investment banking business in Australia and the region.
Lehman, which has operations in China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan, said it planned to grow its staff across Asia by 20 percent this year.