Situation:

The dVT Group were asked to see if we could assist a party who was successfully operating a national business in Australia but wanted to expand into New Zealand and was also looking to have the company listed on the Australian stock exchange. From our discussions, it became clear that a “reverse takeover” would be the best solution and a possible target had already been identified by the client. We were asked to carry out an independent expert report into the transaction, which was required to satisfy Australian and New Zealand statutory obligations.

Actions:

A major part of any independent expert report is to analyse the effect of the transaction (i.e. the acquisition of the target) on the shareholders of both companies. This involves not just crunching the numbers for the acquisition price, but also comparing those numbers to the current and likely future value of the individual and combined businesses. To that end, a valuation was also carried out on the current and combined businesses and that was also done by the dVT Group. We then came across another difficulty, being the difference in rules and regulations between Australia and New Zealand for financial transactions and reports. While in Australia we were authorised and licensed to prepare independent expert reports, there is no such requirement in New Zealand. However, no report will be accepted by the New Zealand Stock Exchange unless the party preparing the report has been approved by them. dVT then had to undertake a series of checks and applications through legal firms and the New Zealand Stock Exchange before being officially recognised as an approved party for the reports.

Outcomes:

The report was completed and lodged with both New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges. The shareholders of both companies met and voted overwhelmingly to accept the proposed acquisition, and the combined operations continue to this day.