eBEST Investment & Securities to change name to LS Securities from June

Headquarters of eBEST Investment & Securities in Seoul / Newsis

eBEST Investment & Securities announced its transformation to LS Securities, coinciding with a change in its major shareholder to LS Networks.

According to industry sources, the name change will take effect on June 1 and comes approximately nine years after it renamed itself from eTrade.

In January, the Financial Services Commission granted approval for the transfer of the majority shareholding of eBEST Investment & Securities from G&A Private Equity to LS Networks. Since July 2008, G&A Private Equity owned a 61.71 percent stake.

Following the process, eBEST Investment & Securities endorsed the company's name change during the regular shareholders' meeting in March and has subsequently finalized all requisite updates, including modifications to its website.

With the rebranding, the company will focus on strengthening its investment banking (IB) business.

On May 27, it established a new division dedicated to this task, signaling its commitment to expanding its IB operations, which had been downsized over the past two years as part of organizational streamlining. Additional hiring is also expected.

eBEST Investment & Securities originated from a joint venture between LG Securities, Japan's SoftBank and America's ETrade in 1999.

In the early 2000s, mounting bad debts at LG Card prompted LG Group to retreat from the financial sector, resulting in the acquisition of the securities firm by SoftBank and ETrade Japan.

In 2008, G&A Private Equity established a 335 billion won ($242 million) fund to acquire the securities firm, with LS Networks contributing one-third of the total amount. LS Networks had previously sought to sell the firm, but multiple attempts fell through due to the absence of suitable buyers.

Enhancing the profitability of eBEST Investment & Securities has now become a challenge for LS Networks.

The securities firm has experienced a consistent decline in net profit. Operating profit, which stood at 225.8 billion won in 2021, plummeted to 41.8 billion won in 2022, and decreased further to 33.1 billion won in 2023.