Brendon Neal
The two groups sought approval from the Overseas Investment Office and NZ Commerce Commission for their tie-up.
The NZ Commerce Commission did not give formal approval for the acquisition of Kepa. Rather, NZFSG informally notified the Commission of the transaction, and the Commission indicated that they did not intend to consider the acquisition further at this time,” NZFSG chief executive Brendon Smith said.
“All of our Kepa staff have accepted positions with NZFSG and started with the new group on November 2. I will continue to run Kepa as CEO while we merge the two companies over the coming months with additional responsibility now as head of strategy for the wider NZFSG Group.”
Neal added: “Lee Rudolph, who established and grew Kepa General from scratch has successfully acquired the rights to the Kepa General client base and will continue to run that business.”
The merger combines Kepa’s network of 400 advisers with the 1,200 plus network of NZFSG and Loan Market.
NZFSG said Kepa’s general insurance arm will remain with Kepa’s holding company Kepa Financial Services (KFS).
The assets will be divested in the coming months and KFS will be wound down.
