Australian MGI groups join forces

AUSTRALIAN accounting firms that operate under the worldwide MGI banner are to merge to form a new financial planning group called Acquest which plans to list in October.

The financial planning operations of these accounting firms, including Accent in Melbourne, will also operate under this brand.

The new company will operate in all capital cities and will offer financial planning services from these operations, according to executive director financial services Bob Neill.

"We will be looking to beef up the operations in Adelaide and Brisbane to achieve our objective of having eight integrated businesses throughout the country," he says.

Neill says Acquest has agreed to acquire a financial planning group in Perth and is seeking to acquire a group in Adelaide to boost that side of the business.

There are no plans for the new group to become a consolidator, he says. "We are not planning to acquire lots of other firms, only some financial planning operations where it makes strategic sense.”

Revenue from the operation is expected to be $85 million and the group will have $1 billion of funds under advice.

The managing director of the new group will be Richard Meyrick who was a senior partner at Melbourne accounting firm Meyrick Webster. Stephen Somogyi, former chief finance executive at National Mutual, will become finance director while David Edwards, who was the chief executive officer of the CPAs, will be the chief operating officer.

Neill says an independent chairman and a couple of more independent directors will be appointed.

Accent chief executive Corinna Dieters will run the financial planning side of the operations nationally.

Acquest will be outsourcing some back-office operations, such as research, says Neill. Areas such as compliance will remain in-house.