ANZ in talks to acquire accounting software company

On Wednesday (13 July), ANZ confirmed it is in talks with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) about a potential acquisition of accounting software company, MYOB.

In a statement, the bank said it is yet to reach an agreement with KKR and there is no certainty the acquisition will proceed.

“Should the transaction proceed, it would be subject to regulatory approvals, including from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the New Zealand Overseas Investments Office,” ANZ said.

“ANZ will make an announcement to the market if the negotiations are successfully completed and an agreement is entered into.”

KKR and MYOB are yet to publicly comment on the matter.

The news comes only months after it was announced that some ANZ employees would be making the move to Zurich for new life insurance business, Zurich Assure.

In February, ifa revealed that the life insurance company would be establishing an “internal advice capability through the new business following “ANZ’s decision to focus its financial advice services on high net-worth customers through ANZ Private”.

Customers with existing retail life insurance policies will begin to be serviced from 29 July 2022.

Soon after, ANZ confirmed to ifa that it will not be shutting down its financial planning services, but rather focus on high net-worth customers through ANZ Private.

UPDATE:

On Friday (15 July), the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) rejected reports that it had "raised preliminary concerns" regarding the potential acquisition and will now conduct a public review. 

"The ACCC has not expressed any view on this possible transaction," a statement released on Friday read.

"If the transaction proceeds, the ACCV will make a decision on whether a public review will be conducted once it has received a submission from the parties."

Neil Griffiths

Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.

Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.