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There has been notable activity on the asset finance broking group COG Financial Services' register.
On Thursday morning, a large block trade representing 13.5 per cent of the ASX-listed company was executed through stockbroker Morgans, with shares changing hands at $1 each—significantly below the last trade price of $1.16 per share. The trade was reportedly linked to major shareholder NAOS Asset Management, which holds over 30 per cent of COG. Sources indicated that a syndicate of buyers purchased the shares.
This transaction occurred a day after COG released its annual results, which showed a modest 2 per cent increase in underlying profit to $24.2 million and a 19 per cent rise in assets under management.
Earlier in July, Barrenjoey’s equities desk facilitated two large transactions, representing 4.8 per cent of the company, on behalf of Colonial First State. The recent trades by NAOS and CFS have significantly diversified COG's shareholder base, which was previously concentrated among NAOS and COG founder Cameron McCullagh.
COG has been active in acquisitions throughout the year, acquiring a 20 per cent stake in ASX-listed Centrepoint Alliance, along with Community Salary Packaging, and the car and lifestyle asset aggregation groups National Finance Choice and United Financial Services. In October, under Andrew Bennett's leadership, COG made a late bid for licensee services group Diverger, later acquired by Count, and also holds a substantial stake in ASX-listed business finance company Earlypay.
The latest COG trade was orchestrated by seasoned markets professional Hugh Robertson senior, who recently moved from Bell Potter to Morgans, a competing stockbroking and corporate finance firm.
