MinterEllison has advised ETFS Capital Limited (ETFS Capital) on its sale of 100% of the shares on issue in ETFS (AUS) Pty Limited (ETFS AUS).

The sale to Seoul-headquartered giant Mirae Asset Global ETFs Holdings Limited (Mirae) and its New York-based subsidiary, Global X Management Company, Inc. (Global X), completes the buyout of ETFS Capital's global exchange traded funds (ETFs) business. It follows the previous sale by ETF Securities of its asset management businesses in the US to Aberdeen Standard Investments and in Europe to WisdomTree.

ETFS AUS is an asset management firm founded in 2002 by renowned Australian philanthropist, Graham Tuckwell. Through its subsidiaries, it issues ETFs and commodity backed exchange traded products (ETPs), primarily in the Australian market.

ETFS AUS or its subsidiaries have listed 16 ETFs and five ETPs, including:

• cryptocurrency related ETFs;
• thematic ETFs, such as robotics, semiconductors and hydrogen;
• internationally exposed ETFs, such as their NASDAQ short and levered ETF, or Indian exposed ETF; and
• metal securities tied to the price of certain commodities, such as palladium or gold.

ETFS AUS has more than $4.7 billion in assets under management and represents the oldest ETF provider in Australia, as well as the largest precious metals ETF platform in the country.

Mirae currently has an extensive global ETF platform ranging across the US, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. With its acquisition of ETFS, Mirae is expanding its footprint into Australia and bringing its ETF assets under management to over $85 billion.

In its most recent review, BetaShares valued the local Australian ETF market at $131.3b, up 17.6 per cent over the last 12 months.

"The popularity of ETFs has dramatically increased in the last few years, particularly amongst investors who are looking to use ETFs to gain exposure to global megatrends – such as artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud computing, cyber security, video games and e-sports," said Lead Partner, Michael Scarf.

"ETFs are also a vehicle utilised by those looking to invest ethically, such as in the clean energy market. This sale is a great outcome for our client and for the ETF Securities business, which can expand the scope of its operations in the Australian market," he added.

The MinterEllison team was led by Michael Scarf with specialist support from across the firm, in areas such as finance, capital solutions, tax and employment.