Count and Mortgage Choice have been in discussions about a potential merger despite the rejection of initial offers.
Count and Mortgage Choice have not denied the likelihood of a possible merger of the two companies, despite the rejection of both organisations' initial offers.
Count's proposed merger price was declined, as was a revised offer suggested by Mortgage Choice to Count, Count chief executive Marianne Perkovic said.
"Both companies need to consider the current business environments each are operating in and then agree on the right price for both Count and Mortgage Choice," she said.
"Due to the impact of the ongoing global credit crisis on the mortgage broking industry, consolidating would reduce the risks Mortgage Choice faces as a stand alone entity and provide significant opportunities for both businesses to excel and strengthen their product suites."
Count yesterday announced it had acquired a 4.9 per cent stake in Mortgage Choice and that if a merger did go ahead it would want to retain the iconic Mortgage Choice brand.
"The next step for Count is to potentially move to a holding stake in the company and then put another offer on the table if Mortgage Choice doesn't make another offer in the interim." Perkovic said.
Count approached Mortgage Choice about a potential merger of the two companies, under advice by Lehman Brothers.
Mortgage Choice's board of directors declined to discuss the possibility of a merger with Count at this time.
Retirees face the risk of running out of money. We asked Macquarie Funds Group's head of longevity risk solutions Andrew Robertson how this can be avoided.... Watch»
Many in the industry would have been bogged down in submissions given the plethora of government reviews. Next year it will be the government's turn to act on the reviews. ... read more »
Home delivered!
Daily news, weekday mornings
Get the day's news delivered direct to your inbox. Register here (it's free!) and choose 'yes' to receive the InvestorDaily newsletter.
