Private equity firms could drive brokerage consolidation — it’s probably a connection that is hard to decipher for most people. By all indications, it does seem as if the consolidation among brokerages has been driven by private equity firms. Here’s how the story has been unfolding. Over the last two years, there have been a slew of private equity players making significant investments in broking firms. Among the prominent deals are those of Citi Venture Capital acquiring a 85% stake in Sharekhan in a Rs 650-crore deal, it also picked up 19.9% in Anand Rathi for Rs 100 crore and Barings PE arm Duckworth picked up a 45% stake in JRG Securities for Rs 150 crore. Apart from this, ICICI Ventures and Barings Private equity bought into Karvy Stock Broking with a 20% stake for Rs 440 crore and IFC picked up a 12.5% holding in Angel Broking for Rs 150 crore.   more »