The Centrepoint Alliance board does not believe an offer from Diverger, a collective of accounting and wealth brands, to acquire all shares in Centrepoint fairly reflects the strategic value of the company.
An ASX announcement from the Centrepoint Board says it has reviewed the Non-Binding Indicative Offer and is pleased the NBIO highlights the inherent value in the company “…which is not represented in the current share price, and the strategic merits of industry consolidation. However, the Board does not believe the offer fairly reflects the strategic value of CAF.”
It says that Centrepoint services more than 500 high quality advisers who operate as authorised representatives under Centrepoint’s Licences, and 200 self-licenced practices with around 700 advisers.
An earlier statement from Centrepoint on June 23 notes that Diverger had taken a 19.99 percent interest in the company.
The Diverger website names the company’s brands as:
- GPS Wealth
- Merit Wealth
- SMSF Expert
- Paragem
- CARE
The website also states that Grahame Evans is its Chairman Wealth Services and that he has previously been group managing director of Centrepoint Wealth.
Centrepoint’s ASX statement says the company “…demonstrated its ability to execute its growth strategy by successfully completing and efficiently integrating the acquisition of ClearView’s Advice business in November 2021, as well as being one of the few licensees to achieve net adviser growth in this financial year, at a time during which many licensees lost significant advisers.”
…Centrepoint has significantly benefited from the acquisition of ClearView Advice…
It notes too that industry consolidation is a key theme that Centrepoint has pursued over the past 24 months “…and Centrepoint has significantly benefited from the acquisition of ClearView Advice, which has consolidated a financially stable licensee with strong recurring revenue, high quality advisers and industry leading services to these advisers.”
The company says the board is pleased to note Diverger’s NBIO is expressed as a collaborative approach to build a stronger, larger business with opportunity to participate in future growth, which should be substantial.
The Board will meet with Diverger “…to discuss the NBIO in the next week and will update the market if necessary,” it says.
Compelling Benefits
An ASX statement from Diverger announcing its Indicative Proposal says the company believes the proposal provides compelling benefits to Centrepoint Alliance’s shareholders and licensee stakeholders.
“Specifically, the combined group will benefit from:
1. A significantly strengthened market leading position with greater operational scale with services being provided to an adviser footprint of more than 1,400 advisers post completion
2. An expansion of core client services utilising the skill and expertise of both Diverger’s and Centrepoint Alliance’s existing operations team and combined product offerings
3. A platform for enhanced market liquidity for both organisations
4. A shared ability to leverage the technology capability and learnings from Diverger’s technology partnerships.”
