Six acquisitions and counting
Countplus has acquired a quarter share in Brisbane-based accounting firm Specialised Business Solutions (SBS), which is the sixth acquisition for the wholly-owned subsidiary of Count Financial.
Countplus announced to the Australian Securities Exchange today that the 25 per cent interest (including net business assets) was settled at the total cost of $1.24 million, with $0.248 in cash and $0.992 million in Count shares.
It said the company has an option to buy the remaining 75 per cent of the business at its discretion from July 1, 2011, or by agreement before that time.
The deal follows a recent venture between Count and SBS, which combined to develop a new Internet-based system for accounting firms called CountGPS.
Count chairman Barry Lambert said: “Initially, CountGPS will only be available to Count members, but we expect it will become the platform for the Countplus accounting franchise, which will be available to the accounting profession generally.”
Recommended for you
With the final tally for FY25 now confirmed, how many advisers left during the financial year and how does it compare to the previous year?
HUB24 has appointed Matt Willis from Vanguard as an executive general manager of platform growth to strengthen the platform’s relationships with industry stakeholders.
Investment manager Drummond Capital Partners has announced a raft of adviser-focused updates, including a practice growth division, relaunched manager research capabilities, and a passive model portfolio suite.
When it comes to M&A activity, the share of financial buyers such as private equity firms in Australia fell from 67 per cent to 12 per cent in the last financial year.
