In Brief: E-Trade Licensing Deal Gives It an Israeli Link

Continuing its march overseas, E-Trade Group, the Palo Alto, Calif., on-line broker-dealer, last week unveiled a licensing agreement with Jerusalem Global Ltd., an Israeli investment banking operation.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but E-Trade said in a release it would eventually form E-Trade Israel. The deal is expected to close during the second half of 1998.

Jerusalem Global specializes in investment banking, advisory services, and business development between Israel and foreign high-technology companies.

E-Trade's agreement with the Israeli firm is part of a recently announced strategy to form licensing agreements internationally, in an effort to bring its brand of no-frills investing to people abroad.

E-Trade already has created E-Trade Australia and has announced plans to form E-Trade Germany and E-Trade Central Europe.

The firm has said it intends to continue pursuing joint ventures rather than outright acquisitions in order to capitalize on its knowledge of securities regulations in different countries.

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