Western Pacific lands slice of Snowball
Perth-based dealer group Western Pacific has purchased a considerable stake in listed financial planning company Snowball Financial, a move that will give it a strategic foothold in the eastern states, and allow it to spread its fledgling funds management division.
As part of a deal that will help Snowball fund its own expansion plans, Western Pacific has paid $1.995 million for a 9 per cent interest in Snowball.
The move came after Snowball issued a $3.4 million new capital raising in order to finance the $5 million cost of its decisions to take a 25 per cent stake in Queensland Teachers’ Credit Union (QTCU) Financial Planning and buy Outlook Financial Planning, the advice arm of the Melbourne-based MECU credit union.
Western Pacific’s push to snap up more than half the new capital on offer will give the dealer group a grip on the financial planning markets in Sydney and Melbourne, where Snowball has a considerable presence.
It will also provide an outlet to expand its funds management arm, Western Pacific Asset Management, which is currently offered only through Western Pacific advisers, but could be extended to Snowball affiliated dealer groups.
For Snowball, the deal to buy Outlook and a stake in QTCU Financial Planning will give it exclusive access to 196,000 credit union members with a combined total of $530 million under advice for five years.
Outlook has $230 million under advice. QTCU’s financial planning arm has over $300 million under advice, from a total of 91,000 members.
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