Count Financial founder and executive chairman, Barry Lambert, says the Commonwealth Bank of Australia is “the best possible owner going forward” as shareholders approved the deal earlier this week.
The company’s 31st Annual General Meeting took place on Monday, revealing that almost 95 per cent of shareholders supported the scheme of arrangement that will see CBA acquire all outstanding shares in Count.
The result is a final green light for CBA’s $373 million takeover offer, which received Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approval earlier this month.
Andrew Geddes and Joycelyn Morton were both re-elected as directors by large margins at the AGM.
Asked to reflect on Count’s life as a publically-listed company coming to an end, Lambert said the certainty of the CBA offer in difficult market conditions made it an easy decision to make.
“I strongly believe that the CBA will be good owners of Count and will provide a safe and secure home for Count’s stakeholders consisting of the staff, franchisees, advisers and their clients,” Lambert said.
Lambert will continue with Count as non-executive chairman and remain chairman of listed financial services and aggregation company, Countplus.
Countplus will remain a separately listed company under independent management although the change in Count’s ownership means CBA will now be its largest shareholder.
Under the schemes of arrangement, all the ordinary shares in Count will be acquired by a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank.
Count’s share price initially jumped from about a dollar to over $1.40 per share when news of the CBA bid was announced in August.
Trading volumes have steadily increased since although the company has generally traded between $1.35 and $1.40 since.
As a proud member of Count for some 13 years this is a sad but necessary merger with CBA brought about by a naive Federal Goverment, which does not understand the practical issues of offering sound financial advice. Clients will flock to industry based funds with little or no advice and we, the stewards of their financial wellbeing, will be left to pick up the pieces in years to come. Over the years, the amount of clients I have assisted in industry based funds with no knowledge of their investment enviroment nor wealth protection strategies, and indeed quite inappropriate strategies for thier specific needs, has been disappointingly high. This will continue to grow under the changes forced on our industry.
great…now the banks will control all financial advice….watch this space for product sales galore…maybe Bill Shorten AKA Bill Short Sighted might ban product manufacturers from having their own distribution networks…otherwise advice will be the “loss leader” for product sales…nothing like asset based fees on wrap and overpriced MER on funds to make a quick buck!!!