Brisbane, 14 July 2011: Clayton Utz has advised Australian financial advisory firm Shadforth Financial Group Holdings Limited on its A$240 million merger with ASX-listed financial services company Snowball Group Limited.
The transaction was announced on 26 May, became unconditional on 27 June, and closed on 8 July.
Clayton Utz Brisbane Corporate Advisory / M&A partner Andrew Hay led the firm's team, with support from Corporate partners Tim Reid and David Cominos, and special counsel, Clayton Barrett.
The merger was effected as a reverse takeover, with Snowball shareholders receiving 2.15 Snowball shares for each Shadforth share, resulting in the issue of approximately 515.7 million new Snowball shares.
On completion, Shadforth shareholders will own 71 percent of the merged entity, which will have more than A$14.3 billion in funds under advice, administration and management.
Clayton Utz has a longstanding relationship with Shadforth, which has included advising the group on its formation through the amalgamation of 13 independent financial planning businesses in early 2008.
Clayton Utz's Andrew Hay said the transaction reflected increased M&A activity in the financial services sector as participants looked to shore up their competitive positions through consolidating their operations.