OSAKA (Kyodo) Major information services provider CSK Holdings Corp. has entered the final phase of talks with Iwai Securities Co. to sell its subsidiary Cosmo Securities Co. to Iwai, sources said Wednesday.
Iwai offered the best terms to CSK Holdings, which has been soliciting bids from multiple potential buyers via a bidding process it organized, the sources said.
CSK has been trying to unload some of its assets to ride out its business slump. Iwai, an Osaka-based brokerage with a network of branches mainly in western Japan, is keen to bolster its customer base by bringing Cosmo, which exceeds Iwai in customer assets, under its wing, sources said.
Iwai also wants to cash in on Cosmo's customer base by offering online securities trading to clients it may be able take over from Cosmo, they added.
CSK has been looking for a buyer for Cosmo since last fall.