Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. is considering buying around a 5 percent stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. of the United States for some 40 billion yen ($362 million), sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The envisaged partnership with financial services company Jefferies would enable Sumitomo Mitsui to bolster its securities business in the United States at a time when the Japanese market is being saturated amid the graying of society.

Sumitomo Mitsui said in a statement that it is considering a capital and business tie-up with Jefferies, adding that it will announce the details once they are worked out.

Established in 1962, New York-based Jefferies operates businesses ranging from investment banking to equities. It has been focusing on advisory services to corporate clients.

Jefferies reported a net profit of $770 million in the year to November 2020. Sumitomo Mitsui, which has one of the Japanese megabanks Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. under its wing, logged a net profit of 512.81 billion yen ($4.6 billion) in the business year through March.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has been expanding its overseas businesses. The group said in early July that it will acquire a 74.9 percent stake in India's nonbanking financial firm Fullerton India Credit Co. for about $2 billion, with an eye to eventually making it a wholly owned subsidiary.

Sumitomo Mitsui has also agreed to take a 4.99 percent stake in Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. of the Philippines for about 10 billion yen.

==Kyodo

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