Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has made progress in its bid to acquire listed financial planning and accounting network Count Financial.
The Supreme Court of New South Wales yesterday gave the go ahead to Count security holders to meet, consider and vote on CBA's $373 million offer.
"The independent expert has concluded that the schemes are, in the absence of a superior offer, fair and reasonable and in the best interests of Count shareholders and Count option holders," Count told the market yesterday.
It said a shareholder scheme meeting and option scheme meeting would be held on 25 November.
The deal is expected to be completed in December, however, it still needs regulatory clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The acquisition was expected to boost CBA's adviser numbers from about 1220 to more than 1850, ranking it second by total number of advisers nationally, according to CBA.
The ACCC has already called for submissions on the proposal and was expected to unveil its findings in November.
The regulator, which had blocked National Australia Bank's bid for Axa, asked market participants whether any "adverse competition effects" would arise from CBA's proposed acquisition of Count.
It also asked customers whether they believed the takeover would result in less choice, higher fees and decreased levels of service.
Non-aligned dealer groups have mixed views over CBA's intended acquisition of Count Financial, with one licensee calling on the ACCC to block the deal.
"Personally, we would like to see it blocked so as to retain some real independence to the marketplace rather than forcing a trend towards vertical integration," Futuro Financial Services managing director Dennis Bashford said last month.
Snowball managing director Tony Fenning said while he understood the transaction's merits from a shareholder and industry perspective, it was a shame independents were being taken over.
Stockbroking and advice firm Bell Potter said in a report that the acquisition appeared to be a logical move for Count's management as it would help solve Future of Financial Advice reform hurdles, while allowing the dealer group to retain a level of independence.
