Marex Group Expands Middle East Presence with Aarna Capital Acquisition

Marex Group plc, a global financial services platform, is set to expand its footprint in the Middle East with the acquisition of Aarna Capital Limited, an Abu Dhabi-based firm specializing in clearing, execution, and risk management solutions.

This strategic move aims to enhance Marex's clearing capabilities while diversifying its client base and solidifying its regional presence.

Aarna Capital provides expertise across energy, metals, equities, fixed income, and foreign exchange markets, and serves a clientele that includes institutional investors, family offices, and corporate clients.

This acquisition brings Marex a respected local team and access to around 180 new clients, enhancing the services it can offer within the region. Marex already has a presence in the Middle East with approximately 60 employees in Dubai.

Ian Lowitt, CEO of Marex commented:

“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. 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.”

Dmitry Nedvetsky, Senior Executive Officer at Aarna Capital commented:

“We are delighted to be joining the Marex platform. This is a beneficial step for both parties. Our clients will continue to be serviced by our team but will have access to a greater range of products and services from the broader Marex franchise. Meanwhile we hope to offer Marex’s clients our services from Abu Dhabi. The Middle East represents an important growth market, and enables Marex to introduce new clients to its platform, increase the capabilities it can offer existing clients, and grow its global footprint.”