Mirae Asset Securities (006800.KS) is considering an acquisition of Public.com, a U.S. retail brokerage platform, sources said. The move reflects the company's push to aggressively expand into the North American retail market.
Mirae Asset is looking closely at buying Public.com, financial investment industry sources said on the 19th. In a regulatory filing the previous day, the company said it was reviewing the acquisition of Public.com but that nothing had been finalized.
Public.com is a privately held fintech firm founded in 2019. Its platform lets users trade a range of assets — stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), U.S. Treasurys and cryptocurrencies — in one place.
Behind Mirae Asset's interest in the local brokerage platform lies its determination to break into the North American retail market. Analysts see the company aiming to establish an early foothold by acquiring a local brokerage or retail platform. Public.com is reported to have more than 3 million members, which observers say could give Mirae Asset an advantage in the market.
The industry's focus is on the acquisition price. According to investment banking (IB) sources, Public.com was valued at about $980 million (1.38 trillion won) when it raised funding in March 2025.
Industry watchers expect the deal to accelerate Mirae Asset's overseas expansion. The company acquired Indian retail brokerage Sharekhan in 2024 and swung to a profit last year, posting net income of 38.8 billion won. As part of its digital finance expansion built on a global investment platform, it launched MAPS — a global investment platform spanning traditional and digital assets — in Hong Kong last June, with plans to extend the service to the United States, Singapore and other markets.
Record earnings at its overseas units are also cited as a key reason for the expansion drive. Mirae Asset's overseas units posted pretax profit of about 609.1 billion won in the second quarter, with strong results across the United States (37%), Hong Kong (35%), London (18%) and India (5%). The overseas units' contribution to consolidated pretax profit rose 6 percentage points from the previous quarter to 24%.
