Count Financial (Count) has made its first equity stake acquisitions through its wholly-owned subsidiary Countplus.
In a statement released to the Australian Securities Exchange, Count chairman Barry Lambert confirmed the group had made two purchases - a business based in Perth and a business based in Queensland.
"Both businesses are existing Count franchises with strong performance records and located in markets where further strong growth is expected," Lambert said.
The total cost of $2.29 million of a 25 per cent interest (including net business assets) was settled with $0.46 million in cash and $1.83 million in Count shares.
Countplus has an option to buy the remaining 75 per cent of the two businesses after 1 July 2011.
Lambert said the company expects to make further announcements in the coming months.
Last month Lambert announced Countplus was on track with two deals expected in December, a third in January and the target of 10 by 30 June 2008 likely to be met.
Countplus takes equity stakes in accounting businesses that have or will have a financial planning division. Countplus plans to reach EBIT of $25 million before a public listing.
