35.85% of CountPlus not part of CBA/KKR transaction

Publicly-listed financial planning and accounting group, CountPlus Limited has breathed a small sigh of relief having received confirmation from the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) that it is not going to be tied in any way to CBA’s sale of 55% of Colonial First State to KKR.

The concern within CountPlus revolved around the fact that, according to a substantial shareholder notice issued on 12 March, this year, Colonial First State Group Limited was the registered holder of 40,945,747 ordinary shares in CountPlus.

CountPlus said this number of shares equated to 35.85% of the company’s ordinary shares on issue.

Concerned about the implications of the shareholding for its own plans, CountPlus sought clarification from the Commonwealth Bank.

It then announced to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) that it had been informed by the bank “that the shares in CUP held by Colonial First State Group were not within the scope of the sale transaction”.

The Colonial First State Group shareholding in CountPlus dates back to the Commonwealth Bank’s acquisition of Count Financial from Barry Lambert.

CountPlus last year acquired Count Financial from the Commonwealth Bank.