Self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) service SuperIQ has purchased SMSF administration provider Smartsuper for an undisclosed sum.
SuperIQ chief financial officer Peter Lalor told InvestorDaily company representatives approached Smartsuper managing director John Docherty with the view to make an acquisition. The companies reached an agreement on 31 August.
The SMSF service was now in the process of integrating the two businesses, Lalor said.
"The Smartsuper business has merged with SuperIQ Pty Ltd and we are currently migrating content and Internet facilities to the SuperIQ systems," a statement on Smartsuper's website said.
The purchase reunites the company with its previous managing director and founder Andrew Bloore, a fact, Lalor said, that did not motivate the purchase.
While he declined to comment on the price SuperIQ paid for Smartsuper, he said the acquisition would add around 1000 extra clients to its existing client base.
"It's a good business - good business, good clients, and good staff," he said.
Asked whether all Smartsuper staff would be moving to SuperIQ, he said "the vast majority of staff will come over", however, "there may be redundancies". He would not be drawn on exact numbers.
Smartsuper's purchase was one of a number of deals SuperIQ planned to finalise, with acquisitions a key part of the company's growth, he said.
"We have a number of discussions underway ... there's a lot of interest in this sector," he said.
Last year, Smartsuper's previous owner, Perpetual, offered the group up for sale after deciding it did not have "sufficient scale to benefit from the growth in its market segment and would not be able to improve its profitability".
As a result, Smartsuper was sold to Rhodes Docherty & Co, a financial services company co-founded by Docherty.
In 2008, Perpetual purchased Smartsuper from Bloore for $16 million.
