SelfWealth receives competing takeover bid as AxiCorp tops Bell Financial proposal
SelfWealth (ASX: SWF) has received its second takeover bid this week—this time from global online brokerage firm AxiCorp Financial Services, priced at $0.23 per share by way of a scheme of arrangement.
The bid represents a superior proposal to that received from Bell Financial Group (ASX: BFG) a day earlier priced at $0.22 per share.
AxiCorp has indicated it could expedite the negotiation and signing of a binding implementation deed with SelfWealth, on condition that the SelfWealth board unanimously recommend shareholders vote to proceed with the proposal and that directors also vote their shares in favour.
Bell Financial bid
Just yesterday, Bell Financial launched a $51 million takeover bid for SelfWealth following a period of engagement between the two companies.
The $0.22 per share consideration was offered to shareholders as a cash or scrip alternative and represented an 85% premium to the one-month volume-weighted average price of $0.119.
The board of SelfWealth agreed to progress negotiations on an exclusive basis and said it would recommend shareholders vote in favour of the bid in the absence of a superior proposal.
That proposal arrived this morning in the form of AxiCorp’s $0.23 per share offer.
Accretive opportunities
At SelfWealth’s annual general meeting this morning, chair Christine Christian told shareholders the company remained open to “seriously considering” accretive opportunities amid industry consolidation.
“I would like to emphasise that the board is committed to always acting in shareholders’ best interests, whether that be continuing to invest in the necessary business transformation required to deliver long-term growth or seriously considering potential value-accretive opportunities that may arise as the industry moves to greater consolidation,” she said.
24 hours earlier, Ms Christian had described Bell’s offer as “compelling for shareholders, team members and clients.”
In light of today’s developments, she has now added that shareholders need not take any action in relation to either offer at this point, as there can be no certainty they will result in a binding transaction.