Consolidated agrees to kiss and make up

The float of Consolidated Financial Services (CFS) is scheduled for late September or early October now that an agreement has been reached between all the shareholders of the planners' co-operative.

CFS director David Craig told Money Management all the issues between the preference and ordinary shareholders - have been resolved.

"The structure of CFS is now in place and it has been agreed by all parties," he says. "We are now looking to lodge a prospectus (with ASIC) shortly and listing in a few months."

As reported in Money Management (June 10), the deal follows a tense stand-off within the group, after a boardroom row broke out over control.

The latest deal creates a new board consisting of six directors and an independent chairman. Craig, Ken Russell and businessman Boyce Pizzey are representing the ordinary shareholders while Kevin Bailey, John Randle and Deborah Rognlien, are representing the preference shareholders which are the financial planning groups.

Preference shares will be offered in the float but Craig says the ordinary shares will not be available.

"The ordinary shares provide some strategy for future, and reflect the commitments made by some investors in the past," he says.

Australian Private Capital principal Michael Tratt, who acted as mediator in the talks, says there was a lot of co-operation between the two groups to reach an acceptable settlement.

Tratt admits negotiations have been hard. "We had a lot of very successful people who are used to running their own businesses suddenly working together to reach an acceptable agreement," he says.

There are about 25 planning groups within CFS. The organisation has almost $100 million of funds under management in its wrap account, a rebadged BT product.

Tratt says more planning groups will probably join CFS after the float.