Jefferies Financial Group Inc. shares surged Wednesday on a report that Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. is considering raising its stake in the US investment bank.
Sumitomo Mitsui Chief Executive Officer Jun Ohta said he hoped to make Jefferies an equity-method affiliate, which could involve an interest of 20% to 50%, according to Nikkei, which later removed the reference to the percentage figures in its story. Ohta didn’t say when his firm might make an additional investment, and indicated that such decisions would come once his company holds discussions with New York-based Jefferies and US regulators.
