At close of trading on 27 December, E&P Financial was removed from the ASX. This comes after the firm first requested in September to be delisted from the exchange.
The proposal was expected to be put forward for shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on 24 October 2024, but was then delayed by a week to 1 November.
Shareholders narrowly approved the ASX delisting at the delayed EGM, with 76 per cent voting in favour of the special resolution, E&P confirmed at the time.
“The company reminds shareholders that if they wish to sell their shares on the ASX, they will need to do so before the company is removed from the official list,” the wealth manager said.
Explaining the reasoning behind the decision in September, it continued: “The EP1 board has concluded that the benefits of being listed on the ASX are materially outweighed by the potential benefits of delivering the next phase of growth in an unlisted environment.”
It particularly highlighted a “sustained negative impact on the EP1 share price as a result of regulatory proceedings and class action litigation. Notwithstanding the resolution of these issues, the lack of support for the equity market remains”.
However, the Financial Advice Association Australia’s general manager for policy, advocacy and standards, Phil Anderson, recently argued that the delisting of E&P will not stop the company coming under scrutiny in the inquiry into Dixon Advisory.
Namely, an inquiry into Dixon Advisory was proposed in September, and the Senate economics references committee is scheduled to report by the last sitting day in March.
“Their message seems to be that their share price has gone south, they don’t think it’s got prospects of going up anytime soon, no one likes them and they’ve carried too much of the glare from all this regulatory and class action stuff,” Anderson said at the time.
“I don’t think they will avoid scrutiny. I think there will be less scrutiny going forward if they are not required to report to the ASX.”
However, in regard to the parliamentary inquiry, according to Anderson, it doesn’t matter if E&P “are listed or not”.
“The Senate economics committee will, as a result of these terms of reference, be having a very close look at the action of Dixon Advisory and therefore its parent company, E&P Financial Group.”
