Findex to purchase Crowe Horwath
Listed accounting and financial planning group Crowe Horwath Australasia will be sold to Financial Index Wealth Accountants (Findex) after a deal was announced between the two groups today.
The acquisition is the second major purchase for Findex, which announced in January that would acquire Centric Wealth, and will significantly boost Findex’s footprint in the market with the addition of 100 Crowe Horwath offices to the 13 already held by Findex.
The deal, which is still in its early stages, will have an exclusivity period to 30 July during which Findex will undertake further due diligence in respect to Crowe Horwath. The two groups will also use this time to negotiate the final terms of a scheme implementation agreement.
The exclusivity period also restricts Crowe Horwath from engaging in any similar discussions with third parties. As a result of this arrangement Crowe Horwath has ended discussions with Anchorage Capital Partners in relations to a proposal submitted by Anchorage in March of this year.
Findex chief executive Spiro Paule confirmed the announcement made to the Australian Stock Exchange by Crowe Horwath and said that all acquisitions by Findex “follow a measured and thorough evaluation of target companies”.
He stated the recent Centric Wealth transactions took place after “much due diligence and consideration from our experienced mergers and acquisition team” and that “any future acquisitions will follow this same course.”
“We plan to further grow our business in wealth, accountancy and all the adjacent financial services. As such, we are always considering any number of quality businesses to join our group, one of which is Crowe Howarth. Further details will be disclosed at the appropriate time.”
Recommended for you
Private wealth manager Escala Partners has increased its alternatives allocations to more than a third in the past three years, describing the asset class as offering “fertile ground” for diversification.
The Financial Services Council has recommended implementing a per capita limit per annum for financial advisers when it comes to the CSLR levy to allow them to expand their business without levy uncertainty.
DASH Technology Group has seen a 49 per cent uplift in its carrying value and is completing a new capital raising, having already received $30 million from growth investor Bailador.
At the halfway point of the year, consolidation pressures continue to drive financial services M&A with three areas identified as targets for asset and wealth managers, according to PwC’s mid-year outlook.
