More light has been shed on last week's indicative, non-binding and conditional proposal received by financial services technology provider Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) with IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL) being outed as the suitor.
Here's what we now know
- On October 8, Hub24 provided an announcement to the market that it had received a bid to acquire the whole company at a price of $2.75 per share
- On October 13, the stock entered a trading halt pending the release to the market. Later that day, after a request from the ASX in response to media speculation, IOOF was outed as the party looking to acquire Hub24.
What's next
Hub24's business provides a market leading Wrap and Managed Account Platform which supports the servicing of portfolio management, transaction and reporting solutions for a broad spectrum of the financial services industry including financial advisors, accountants and stockbrokers.
Given Hub24's footprint, the acquisition would seem to make some sense for IOOF given its own diverse business activities, however, no doubt some will question whether IOOF is really better owning rather than outsourcing these platform functions.
Proving that even the experts can't always get their timing right, Contango Asset Management which operates the listed investment company (LIC) Contango Microcap Ltd (ASX: CTN) had unfortunate timing in selling down its stake in Hub24 and ceasing to be a substantial holder just last month.
Shareholders are likely to be excited at the prospect of receiving a record high price for their stock and considering the company was loss making to the tune of $4.4 million for the full year ending June 30, arguably it could be a good offer from IOOF.
