Deakin looks for value after finalising AustChoice takeover

TheDeakin Financial Servicestakeover ofAustChoice, made fully effective late last week, may result in job losses as Deakin pursues “synergies” within the newly combined groups.

Deakin Financial Services chairman Rob Hunwick says the business is now “busy making plans for extracting synergies from the combined companies”, and this may lead to some jobs being lost within the next month.

However Hunwick says the exact extent and nature of any losses was yet to be decided by the group given the fact the takeover was only finalised last week.

As a result of the deal, declared unconditional last Friday, Deakin now owns 100 per cent of AustChoice, with the group having been able to gain support from over 90 per cent of AustChoice’s shareholders.

“What it means is that the takeover is effectively complete, and we now only have to clear up the last small number of shareholders that we haven’t been able to contact,” Hunwick says.

As agreed in merger negotiations, Deakin has announced that former AustChoice contractor Phil Butterworth has been appointed as the new combined group’s chief operating officer.

Hunwick says that Butterworth was thought appropriate for the role due to his previous experience with groups such as Macquarie andBTin the areas of product development and distribution.

Deakin has also appointedSMF Funds Managementmanaging director Chris Kelaher and Moneyplan Australia principal Peter Dunn as two new non-executive directors to its board.

This follows the resignation from the board of directors of Murray Hills, Mark Hancock, and Peter Daly, though Hills will be remaining with Deakin in his role as general manager for dealer solutions.

The combined group’s adviser numbers will be in excess of 250 and Hunwick says the merger leaves Deakin as a “powerful distribution group”, and that growth strategies in packaging and distribution will be pursued after combined operating costs are reduced and revenues maximised.