Stockford pays $10 million for Moneywise
Accounting and financial planning consolidator Stockford has paid $10.3 million for Moneywise Financial Planning.
The deal will see Stockford offer 6.25 million shares plus $500,000 in cash for the financial planning group. Since listing nine days ago, Stockford has held steady around $1.57, valuing the deal at $10.3 million.
Moneywise currently has funds under management of more than $450 million. The funds will be added with its client base to Stockford giving the latter total funds under management of $1.8 billion.
Stockford financial services general manager Mark Rantall says the purchase will expand on current capabilities. He says Moneywise is a good fit for Stockford since it specialised in high net worth clients and also had a self managed super (SMS) product.
"We feel the SMS product to be a good fit with similar products we have in the group and it has internal and external applications as well," Rantall says.
"At the same time it is a quality group that is a standout in the industry with significant size and scale plus strong profitability."
Moneywise has generated much of its business through links with accountancy groups, according to Rantall, which will fit in the groups currently within Stockford.
Stockford will pick up 25 staff including 6 planners to add to it current crop of 60 planners who will operate out of nearly 60 offices nationally and service 3000 clients.
Stockford chief executive Jim Phillipson says the deal is expected to be finalised in January.
Moneywise was set up in 1975 to provide personal financial planning advice and services including investment advice, superannuation, portfolio management, business planning and risk management.
Stockford listed on November 28 after its float offer closed fully subscribed at $20 million with the group valued at $180 million.
So far Stockford has brought together 45 accounting, financial planning and business advisory firms and is the second major financial planning group to list this year, following Fiducian's listing in September.
Rantall says Stockford is looking at further acquisitions and has set a target of $3 billion for funds under advice in the next three to five years. It also plans to have 100 proper authority holders on board by December 2001 and would achieve this through growth and acquisitions.
AUTHOR
Jason Spits
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