During an extraordinary general meeting of CountPlus shareholders in Sydney, 99.7 per cent of shareholders voted in favour of acquiring the group.
The resolution is now expected to see the $2.5 million sale proceed, with a completion date of around 1 October.
CountPlus will gain Count Financial’s 160 practices, 359 advisers and $8.1 billion in funds under administration, giving it the opportunity to immediately scale upwards.
The company expects, free from the structures of banking ownership and with strategic objectives put into place as part of a 100-day plan, the Count Financial business will turn a profit in year one.
CountPlus chief executive Matthew Rowe said his group would work hard to ensure all Count Financial firms aligned with its values, particularly its “key objective of making a decent profit, decently.”
CBA has stated its intention to sell down its 35.85 per cent stake in CountPlus. The bank is also providing $200 million indemnity to cover remediation of past product as part of the deal.
CBA expected the sale will incur a post-tax loss of around $13 million.
The bank bought Count Financial from its founder Barry Lambert in 2011 for $373 million. CountPlus had initially been launched in 2006 as a subsidiary of Count Financial.
“We have long been believers that there are clear benefits in businesses that provide both accounting services, and financial advice,” Mr Rowe said.
“We are encouraged by the clear support from our shareholders for this transaction and look forward to returning Count Financial to the CountPlus business.”
Sarah Simpkins
Sarah Simpkins is a journalist at Momentum Media, reporting primarily on banking, financial services and wealth.
Prior to joining the team in 2018, Sarah worked in trade media and produced stories for a current affairs program on community radio.
You can contact her on [email protected].
