Lotte seeks Cosmo stake from Sparx

South Korean industrial conglomerate Lotte Group has entered discussions with Tokyo-based Sparx Group to acquire a stake in Cosmo Investment Management, a Seoul-based investment firm majority-owned by Sparx.The move represents an attempt by a Korean chaebol to break into asset management in the wake of the Capital Market Consolidation Act. This legislation, which came into effect last year, removes cross-selling barriers and ownership restrictions among different financial service pro…