Insignia shares slide as company shrugs off takeover talk

The news: Shares in Insignia Financial slid in early trading after the wealth manager clarified that it was not aware of any private equity takeover bid for the company.

The numbers: Insignia shares were down 6.4% to $2.34 on the ASX in early trading, after climbing more than 13% on Tuesday after the Australian Financial Review reported that it had tapped investment bankers at Citi to weigh potential interest from private equity groups.

The context: In a clarification to the ASX after market hours on Tuesday, Insignia said it was not aware of any such offers.

Ahead of Tuesday’s report, shares in the company were down nearly 20%. The Melbourne-based company reported a statutory net loss for its first half, with its platforms and asset management businesses underperforming even as expenditure increased on cyber security, governance, and license condition rectification.