Nomura hints at buyout amid Enam sale buzz

Nomura Holdings, one of Japan's biggest financial institution, is set to enter the Indian equity business either through a joint venture or acquisition, a top Nomura official said here on Tuesday.

Hiroshi Toda, director, deputy president and COO of Nomura Holdings, said the institution would look at the acquisition route to enter India "as soon as possible" which is turning out to be the world's most attractive market.

Last week, the financial sector was abuzz with rumours that Nomura was in talks with Enam Financial to take over its investment banking arm. Insiders say both companies are negotiating the price. Toda declined to comment on the Enam deal.

Toda said the company wants an existing stock broking licence for its India business and even consider asset management at a later date.

About how much Nomura is ready to pay for an acquisition, Toda said "as little as possible." Toda said a lot of Japanese companies are now keen to invest in the Indian stock market to diversify their portfolio and high growth expected in the Indian economy.

"The Japanese economy is growing at the rate of 1 per cent per annum. Therefore we are increasingly looking outside for investments," Toda said on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Japan External Trade Organisation.

Nomura, which advised Mitsui on its Sesa Goa stake sale, is also looking out for other corporate acquisition deals in India. At the same time, Toda said, a lot of Indian companies are looking at acquisitions in Japan. "We are talking to a lot of players," he added.

In the recent past, some of the world's top investments banking companies like Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have taken full control of their Indian joint ventures by buying their local partners out. Nomura had presence in the Indian markets earlier but had folded operations in the mid-nineties.

Besides, other foreign companies like Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and BNP Paribas have invested in India's fast-growing brokers as the local stock market booms.