Countplus has acquired a 25 per cent stake in South Australian professional services firm Hood Sweeney, which is run by Financial Planning Association chairman Matthew Rowe.
Countplus paid $3.75 million cash for the stake. Settlement is expected to be completed before the end of October 2012, with further performance-based payments over two years, Countplus said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
Countplus said it expected the investment to be immediately earnings-per-share accretive.
Hood Sweeney will continue to operate independently under its own Australian Financial Services Licence and Australian Credit Licence, and Countplus will not have any representation on the Hood Sweeney Board, according to the statement.
Hood Sweeney, which had revenue of more than $16 million in the last financial year, has 86 staff across three offices in Adelaide, Whyalla and Kadina.
It has experienced "significant" growth over recent years and is now the 34th largest accounting firm in Australia, according to Hood Sweeney chairman Andrew Holsman.
In welcoming Hood Sweeney as an aligned partner to the Countplus network, Countplus executive chairman Barry Lambert said he had been impressed by Hood Sweeney's reputation on both a local and national scale.
"Under the impressive leadership of managing director Matthew Rowe and their senior management team, Hood Sweeney has successfully developed a unique model of integrating its client services to encompass accounting, business advisory, financial planning, finance and technology services – and this level of integration is the key differentiator between Hood Sweeney and traditional accounting firms," Lambert said.
"With a focus on the key markets of health, agribusiness, SME and family business, high net worth individuals and self-managed super funds, and a proven track record of servicing and supporting clients, we believe Hood Sweeney will continue to go from strength to strength."
