CBA makes offer on Count
(31 August 2011 – Australia) Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has offered to acquire financial planner Count Financial for A$373 million.
CBA made the takeover offer via a scheme of arrangement at A$1.40 a share, a premium of 32.1 percent to its price earlier in the week of A$1.06, shareholders can accept cash or CBA scrip.
The Count board, led by founder and chairman Barry Lambert, has unanimously recommend the bid in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an independent expert concluding it’s in the best interests of shareholders.
Other Lambert family members who hold about 20 per cent of Count shares have also indicated they will vote in favour of the scheme, subject to no superior proposal being recommended by the board.
Count, Australia's biggest independently owned group of financial planning accountants and advisers with its franchise containing more than 350 firms, yesterday more than doubled its annual profit in 2010-11 to A$52 million. It has more than A$10 billion in funds under advice.
The move comes as the big four up their wealth management offerings, with ANZ in June boosting its position in the growing sector via a relationship with UBS after UBS bought ING Group's Australian investment management business, ING Investment Management Australia.
The Count board, led by founder and chairman Barry Lambert, has unanimously recommend the bid in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an independent expert concluding it’s in the best interests of shareholders.
Other Lambert family members who hold about 20 per cent of Count shares have also indicated they will vote in favour of the scheme, subject to no superior proposal being recommended by the board.
Count, Australia's biggest independently owned group of financial planning accountants and advisers with its franchise containing more than 350 firms, yesterday more than doubled its annual profit in 2010-11 to A$52 million. It has more than A$10 billion in funds under advice.
The move comes as the big four up their wealth management offerings, with ANZ in June boosting its position in the growing sector via a relationship with UBS after UBS bought ING Group's Australian investment management business, ING Investment Management Australia.
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