Indonesian financial services firm PT MNC Kapital has acquired Beltone Financial’s majority stake in New York-based brokerage Auerbach Grayson, MNC said in a statement (pdf) yesterday. Beltone has remained tightlipped on the identity of the buyer, saying only that a group of investors had agreed to purchase its 60% stake in the brokerage. MNC is partnering with Auerbach co-founder David Grayson on the acquisition, who MNC said bought back the remaining shares in the brokerage firm, without disclosing how ownership will be distributed. The sale and purchase agreement has been finalized after earning approval from the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority last week.

Beltone hopes to wave goodbye to a sea of red: The firm is offloading its stake following a string of losses since its purchase in 2016. Beltone CEO Ibrahim Karam said last year that the brokerage was responsible for “big” losses at the company, whose finances have remained in the red since 2018. Beltone reported a EGP 35.9 mn loss in the first nine months of 2020, an improvement on the EGP 63.3 mn loss in the same period the previous year.

About MNC Kapital: The company is owned by Indian businessman and politician Hary Tanoesoedibjo, who Reuters notes is a business partner of outgoing US President Donald Trump. MNC Kapital, a subsidiary of MNC Group, was set up as the holding company’s financial services arm in 1999 before going public in 2001.