Ann: CUP Announcement - Acquisition of Count Financial, page-11

On face value, it looks like a good deal. But for which party?

And the answer depends on what is in this mystery box called Count Financial. It is these three bullet points below, and what they could mean in aggregate that has got me thinking:

• $200M CBA indemnity to cover the remediation of past conduct
• Count Financial has 359 financial advisers and 160 firms. Funds under administration of $8.1billion
• CBA has also confirmed its intention to sell down its 35.85% equity interest in CountPlus

So if the remediation comes in at less than $200M, things look really good for CUP, a bargain acquisition, a steal. If the remediation comes in at greater than $200M then CUP has bought a problem. In this case CBA has been very savvy in cutting their losses by selling Count Financial and then selling down CUP. Pardon the pun, the $200M question is... could the remediation cost come in at greater than $200M?

Hopefully, it is just a case of the mammoth bank simply getting out of financial advice without too much care for their loss. Let's face it, a once off $13M post tax loss is loose change to CBA.

GLTAH, I look forward to finding out more about this intriguing turn of events.