SKorea's Woori Investment seeks European bank: spokesman

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

SEOUL (AFP) — South Korean brokerage Woori Investment and Securities said Friday it was considering spending up to two billion dollars buying a European investment bank and was looking at about 20 possibilities.

"We've been analysing their financial statements and business environment to find out whether there will be any synergy," a spokesman told AFP.

"The value of a possible deal will not be greater than two billion dollars."

He said such acquisitions would help South Korean companies compensate for their lack of overseas experience and expand international networks.

Woori Investment and Securities, a subsidiary of state-financed Woori Finance Holdings, operates a brokerage in London.

It also has an investment banking operation and a hedge...