NZX sells FundSource to Australia's Zenith Partners

NZX sells FundSource to Australia's Zenith Investment Partners

By Paul McBeth

May 22 (BusinessDesk) - NZX has wrapped up the sale of its FundSource research house to Australia's Zenith Investment Partners for an undisclosed sum.

The stock market operator has been restructuring to put a greater emphasis on its core markets business, selling assets it no longer sees as a right fit.

The FundSource unit, which supplies analysis to financial advisers and fund managers, was the last of those businesses on the block. NZX today said it's signed a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Zenith, which provides research to more than 140 Australian financial advice practices

NZX said the price is confidential, but not material. The company's auditor KPMG set materiality at $900,000 in the 2018 annual report based on NZX's pre-tax profit of $19.7 million.

The stock market operator committed to selling FundSource in 2017, valuing its assets at the end of that year at $435,000. In 2018, it wrote down the value of goodwill and other intangible assets by $352,000, and held it as a $20,000 liability as at Dec. 31.

The transaction is expected to settle this month.

NZX shares last traded at $1.05 and have increased 4 percent so far this year.

(BusinessDesk)

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