HBF has announced it has formally acquired 100 per cent of the shares in CUA Health from Great Southern Bank.
HBF said it has also partnered with Great Southern Bank under a five-year distribution agreement that will see its health insurance policies marketed to the bank's customers.
"The acquisition delivers on key strategic priorities for both organisations," said HBF, adding it brings further scale to the Perth-based company's operation outside Western Australia.
HBF said that the approximately 79,000 CUA Health members will see no immediate change. "All former CUA Health employees were offered and accepted roles with HBF in Brisbane, with HBF today welcoming 63 new employees," it said.
“I am proud to warmly welcome our new members and Brisbane colleagues. Since we announced the acquisition in May 2021, we have been working closely with Great Southern Bank to ensure a smooth and positive transition for all. With the acquisition now complete, we look forward to showing our new members and colleagues the value of being with HBF," said HBF CEO John Van Der Wielen.
“The acquisition and our exclusive distribution agreement with Great Southern Bank adds significant firepower to HBF’s national growth plans, which have been gaining momentum since we launched our quokka advertising campaign nationally in 2020.
“The addition of CUA Health means we now have well over 1 million members, with approximately 17 per cent living outside of WA, up from around 11 per cent, and a team of almost 100 outside of WA with fantastic growth opportunities.
“Our desire to expand nationally is all about building economies of scale so that we can continue to provide competitively-priced health insurance which delivers real value for all of our members when they need it most.”
Paul Lewis, the CEO of Great Southern Bank, added, "This is a great outcome for our customers. CUA Health members are joining another customer-focused organisation that shares many of the same values as Great Southern Bank. Most importantly, we both believe in putting customers at the heart of everything we do. This move also allows both HBF and Great Southern Bank to focus on our respective key strengths. For Great Southern Bank that means pursuing our core banking business and helping customers with all aspects of their homeownership journeys.”
The terms of the acquisition remain confidential with the purchase price funded by HBF’s existing cash reserves.