Mick O’Brien
EQT Holdings Limited (ASX: EQT) (Equity Trustees), have announced it had completed the acquisition of Australian Executor Trustees Limited (AET) from SFG Australia Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Insignia Financial Limited (ASX:IFL) (Insignia).
AET is a well-recognised provider of professional private client trustee services in Australia, with more than 140 years of experience in providing specialised estate and trustee services., including native title, compensation and charitable trusts, and wills and estates.
Equity Trustees’ Chair Carol Schwarz said, “This cements our place as a leader in the broadest range of trustee services in Australia.
“Equity Trustees is going from strength to strength by remaining focussed on trusteeship, as we have done for the past 130 years and will continue to do.”
Equity Trustees’ Managing Director Mick O’Brien said the acquisition was transformative and would deliver benefits to all our stakeholders.
“This acquisition strengthens Equity Trustees’ ability to serve clients better, provides more opportunities for staff and boosts our investment in products and technology,” he said.
“It provides us with increased scale and geographic spread across Australia, particularly in Adelaide where AET has a long and prominent history which we will respect as we bring together these two great, specialist heritage brands.
“We also look forward to building a closer relationship with the Insignia group as we each focus on our specialist capabilities and aim to create mutual value for our respective clients through the development of our strategic alliance.”
The acquisition has been funded through a combination of debt and equity, including $125 million from an equity raising (completed in September) and the establishment of a new $40 million debt facility.
