The chief executive of CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets once called the brokerage firm 'an insane asylum' populated by a group of iconoclastic analysts. Soon that crew will work for the Chinese government.

Government-backed Citic Securities Co. said Friday it will acquire Hong Kong-based CLSA in two stages from France's Credit Agricole SA for $1.25 billion. The sale is the latest step in a global retrenchment at Credit Agricole, driven by the euro crisis and the cloudy outlook for giant Western banks.

The takeover is a bold move by Citic, China's biggest brokerage by market value, to use global economic unrest to its advantage as it challenges Western rivals. It will help Citic connect capital-hungry Chinese companies with the big Western investors that CLSA counts as clients.

But making the tie-up work won't be easy. Chinese investments in Western financial firms haven't done well, and Citic is paying a premium for a company that has struggled with soft commissions and weak trading volume. Citic's record in cross-border deals includes a 2007 share swap with Bear Stearns Cos. that collapsed when the U.S. broker was sold in distress to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

Also, financial takeovers tend to be tricky because of the risk of culture clashes that can lead to the departure of top talent.

'Human resources are the most important asset for a global broker,' said Judy Zhang, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, in a report. 'It may be hard to retain talent if Citic Securities wants to fully integrate CLSA's Hong Kong operations.'

Citic has said it values CLSA's business and expects to keep a hands-off approach.

How the deal fares could depend largely on Chief Executive Jonathan Slone, a blunt New Yorker who helped make CLSA a force in Asian equities, and Yin Ke, a finance executive who helped negotiate Citic's deal with Bear Stearns. While the full management structure hasn't been set, Mr. Yin will join CLSA's board and Mr. Slone will keep running CLSA and continue to report to the board.

Founded 26 years ago by two journalists, CLSA rode the growth of finance in Asia but retained its quirky nature.

The company is perhaps best known for market forecaster Christopher Wood and his weekly newsletter Greed & Fear, as well as for other contrarian analysts such as Mike Mayo and Japan strategist Nicholas Smith.

This independent streak has made the company popular among professional investors. In polls by Greenwich Associates, CLSA ranks with top banks such as Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley in research and advice.

'The DNA of CLSA is to always be the insane asylum for people that can't work in the mainstream industry,' Mr. Slone said in a May 2010 interview.

The company also has hosted investor forums featuring keynote speakers including George Clooney, Desmond Tutu and Sarah Palin. The forums often have been followed by extravagant parties. In Tokyo in 2009, investors watched a pole-dancing act and a performance by singer Macy Gray. 'We like to party and our clients like to join us,' said Mr. Slone.

In the past, CLSA has retained key employees by making them shareholders. CLSA was 65%-owned by Credit Agricole with up to 35% held by staff. It is unclear how this will work under the Citic deal.

Deals matching Western and Chinese investment banks haven't always worked. Morgan Stanley was a co-founder of China's biggest investment bank, China International Capital Corp., in 1995, but disagreements led to a rift that sidelined Morgan Stanley from decision making. It sold out in 2010.

Mr. Slone, 51, founded electronic broker G-Trade Services in 1999, which was sold to Bank of New York Mellon Corp. in 2002. Mr. Yin worked his way through China's domestic brokerage industry, starting as the assistant to the CEO of the government-owned Shenzhen Stock Exchange. He moved to Hong Kong 10 years ago to lead the investment banking and private equity investment businesses at Citic Capital Holdings Ltd., and was named Citic Securities' executive director in 2009.

'We love CLSA as a family, we don't want to lose any member of the family,' said Mr. Yin.

Alison Tudor / Prudence Ho

里昂证券(CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets)容纳了一群不愿因循守旧的分析师，其首席执行长(CEO)一度将这家经纪公司称为“收容所”。很快，这家公司的分析师就要为中国政府工作了。

CLSA/Bloomberg News2009年，里昂证券CEO施立宏和前阿拉斯加州州长佩林（Sarah Palin）在里昂证券投资者论坛上。拥有政府背景的中信证券股份有限公司(Citic Securities Co.)上周五表示，将分两个阶段、以12.5亿美元的总对价从法国农业信贷集团(Credit Agricole SA)手中收购总部位于香港的里昂证券。受欧元危机以及大型西方银行并不明朗的前景影响，法国农业信贷集团正在全球范围内推出紧缩措施，出售里昂证券正是其迈出的最新一步。

对中信证券而言，此次收购里昂证券是一个大胆的举动。按市值计算，中信证券是中国最大的券商。在向西方竞争对手发起挑战的同时，中信证券将全球经济动荡转化为有利于自己的一种优势。此次收购有助于中信证券为渴求资本的中资企业同里昂证券那些大型西方投资者客户牵线搭桥。

但双方联姻并不容易。中国此前对西方金融企业的投资结果并不理想。对于因佣金收入疲软、交易量萎缩而步履维艰的里昂证券而言，中信证券此次可谓是溢价收购。中信证券的跨境交易记录包括2007年与贝尔斯登(Bear Stearns)谈判的交叉持股计划。不过后来贝尔斯登濒临破产，危急之中被卖给了摩根大通(J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.)。

此外，金融收购往往比较棘手，因为文化冲突的潜在风险可能导致最优秀人才离开。

德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)的分析师张卓佳在一份报告中说，人力资源是一家全球性券商最重要的资产；如果中信证券想要充分整合里昂证券的香港业务，那么想要留住人才可能很难。

中信证券曾表示，相当重视里昂证券的业务，并预计不会过多插手。

此次收购完成后新公司表现如何可能在很大程度上取决于里昂证券的CEO施立宏(Jonathan Slone)和中信证券的金融高管殷可。施立宏(Jonathan Slone)是一个直去直来的纽约人，他和其他人一道把里昂证券打造成亚洲股市的一支生力军。殷可曾参与中信证券同贝尔斯登的交易谈判。目前整个管理层结构还没有完全定下来，不过殷可将加入里昂证券董事会，施立宏将继续担任里昂证券CEO，并继续向董事会报告。

26年前由两名记者创办的里昂证券搭上了亚洲金融业发展的顺风车，不过仍然保持了其较为“古怪”的本色。

这家公司最有名的，恐怕是其市场预测专家伍德(Christopher Wood)和他的每周通讯《贪婪与恐惧》(Greed & Fear)，以及梅奥(Mike Mayo)和日本策略师史密斯(Nicholas Smith)等反向操作分析师。

这些独树一帜的分析师让里昂证券受到专业投资者的欢迎。在咨询公司Greenwich Associates做的调查里，CLSA在研究和咨询方面与德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)、摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)等大行不相上下。

施立宏在2010年5月份接受采访时说，里昂证券的DNA是一直为那些无法在业内成为主流的人充当“收容所”。

里昂证券还举办过一些由演员克鲁尼(George Clooney)、图图大主教(Desmond Tutu)和政治明星佩林(Sarah Palin)等人发表主旨演讲的投资论坛。论坛之后常常是奢华的聚会。2009年在东京，投资者观看了一场钢管舞表演和歌手格雷(Macy Gray)的演出。施立宏说，我们喜欢聚会，我们的客户也喜欢参加。

过去，里昂证券是通过让员工成为股东来留住他们。里昂证券65%的股权由法国农业信贷集团持有，最高35%的股权由员工持有。不清楚中信证券收购之后持股结构将出现怎样的变化。

西方与中国投资银行联姻的交易并非总有好结果。1995年，摩根士丹利和其他方面一道创办了中国的最大投资银行──中国国际金融有限公司(China International Capital Corp.)。但由于与管理层产生矛盾，摩根士丹利被边缘化，并于2010年出售了全部股份。

51岁的施立宏在1999年创办电子经纪公司G-Trade Services，这家公司2002年卖给了纽约梅隆银行(Bank of New York Mellon Corp.)。殷可一直在中国国内经纪行业工作，最初是在国有企业深圳证券交易所担任总经理秘书，10年前迁至香港负责中信资本控股有限公司(Citic Capital Holdings Ltd.)的投资银行与私募股权投资业务。2009年，他被任命为中信证券执行董事。

殷可说，我们把里昂证券当作家人来爱，我们不想失去这个家庭的任何成员。