E&P Financial completes ASX delisting

Dixon Advisory parent company E&P Financial Group has finalised its delisting, with the ASX announcing that it was removed as of close of trading on 27 December.

The wealth management firm first announced in September that it had formally requested to delist from the ASX.

Dixon’s parent company said at the time that the benefits of being listed on the stock exchange are “materially outweighed” by the potential benefits of delivering the next phase of growth in an unlisted environment.

“Part of the rationale for pursuing the delisting is the low level of trading liquidity in EP1 shares, with trading averaging approximately 33,000 shares per day in the 12 months to September 2024,” the firm said in the initial announcement.

The proposal was expected to be put forward for shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on 24 October 2024 and required 75 per cent of votes to be cast in favour of the delisting. This was then delayed by a week to 1 November.

The result of the EGM showed that shareholders narrowly voted in favour of the ASX de-listing with a 76 per cent majority vote in the special resolution, according to an ASX announcement.

However, the Financial Advice Association Australia’s general manager for policy, advocacy and standards Phil Anderson argued last year that the delisting of E&P would not stop the company from coming under scrutiny in the inquiry into Dixon Advisory.

An inquiry into Dixon Advisory was proposed in September, just a week before E&P sought to delist, and the Senate economics references committee is scheduled to report by the last sitting day in March.

Anderson said: “Their message seems to be that their share price has gone south, they don’t think it’s got prospects of going up anytime soon, no one likes them and they’ve carried too much of the glare from all this regulatory and class action stuff.

“I don’t think they will avoid scrutiny. I think there will be less scrutiny going forward if they are not required to report to the ASX. But in terms of this parliamentary inquiry, it doesn’t matter if they are listed or not. The Senate economics committee will, as a result of these terms of reference, be having a very close look at the action of Dixon Advisory and therefore its parent company E&P Financial Group.”