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A bidding war could be on the cards for brokerage group Selfwealth (ASX: SWF) after global online brokerage group AxiCorp Financial Services lobbed a marginally higher competing bid for the company which yesterday said it was happy to proceed with a $51 million offer from Bell Financial (ASX: BFG).
Axi, a Sydney-based company that provides brokerage services for forex trading and contracts for difference, has put forward a non-binding indicative proposal to acquire Selfwealth for 23c per share, up from Bell’s offer of 22c per share, valuing the group at $53 million.
Selfwealth says that Axi is prepared to negotiate and sign a binding implementation deed as quickly as possible, with its deal not subject to due diligence or financing conditions.
The offer from Axi follows the Selfwealth board yesterday unanimously recommending shareholders accept the previous offer from Bell Financial which was at a 26 per cent premium to a previous offer the board rejected last year from multinational competitor Stake.
Bell Financial plans to integrate Selfwealth into its Technology & Platforms business which the company says will add significant scale and boost its sponsored holdings to $94 billion.
Selfwealth chair Christine Christian yesterday described the Bell proposal as “compelling for Selfwealth’s shareholders, team members and clients” that would deliver “significant value” to shareholders.
The non-binding indicative proposal from Bell Financial comprises cash and potentially shares in Bell for those Selfwealth shareholders who elect to do so and follows an approach by Bell to the company in October.
Bell Financial put forward its $51 million offer after undertaking due diligence and entered into an exclusivity deed for further discussions.
However, the Axi bid has thrown a spanner in the works.
“Selfwealth shareholders do not need to take any action in relation to the Bell proposal or the Axi proposal,” says Selfwealth in a statement to the ASX this morning.
“There can be no certainty that either proposal will result in a binding transaction.”
Axi Group was founded in 2007 and has a staff of more than 400 across 11 offices globally servicing customers in 120 countries.
Shares in Selfwealth were trading at 25c each at 12.41pm (AEDT), up 4.5c, indicating the market is anticipating a higher offer from Bell Financial for the group.
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