Selfwealth shareholders resoundingly greenlight takeover proposal

Selfwealth shareholders approved the investment platform's acquisition by Singaporean digital wealth manager Syfe Group's holding company Svava on Tuesday.

Of those who voted, 99.7% were in favour of the proposed offer, which will see shareholders receive $0.28 in cash for each share they own as of May 1.

The offer represents a 133% premium to Selfwealth's 12 cent closing price the day before Bell Financial Group made its initial bid on November 13 last year. Bell raised its proposal to 25 cents per share later that month; the approved offer is a 27% premium to that bid.

Axi Corp Financial Services was also in the hunt, putting forward an indicative offer of 23 cents per share the day after Bell's initial bid, before Syfe submitted the winning proposal.

Prior to the vote, Selfwealth's board unanimously recommended that shareholders back the offer.

Selfwealth chair Christine Christian explained no better proposal had emerged, nor was one likely to emerge.

Christian said the board considered the offer to be "highly attractive for shareholders" and anticipated that Selfwealth customers would benefit from Syfe's commitment to technology-led diversified wealth solutions.

She said it represents an opportune time for shareholders to crystallise the value of their investment in Selfwealth as its current earnings are significantly linked to receipt of interest on customer cash in trading accounts, and the current period of cyclical upswing in interest rates is unlikely to continue indefinitely.

"Scale is increasingly important in the online equity trading market, and there is no certainty that Selfwealth will be able to increase its scale as an independent company," she said.

"If the Scheme does not proceed, in the absence of a superior proposal, the Selfwealth share price is likely to drop significantly."