COG Financial Services shareholders meet on Wednesday to vote on a capital reconstruction that has been designed to “make its share price more appealing to a wider range of investors”.

The board is proposing that the issued share capital be consolidated on the basis that every 10 shares be consolidated into one share and every 10 options be consolidated into one option.

The company has made a number of acquisitions in recent years and in the process the number of shares on issue has exceeded 1.6 billion. The share price is currently trading around 13 cents.

The board feels this share price does not reflect the value of its growing portfolio and hopes the consolidation will be the catalyst for a re-rating of the stock.

The meeting will also consider a proposal to cancel options issued to the company’s chief executive Andrew Bennett in exchange for a consideration based on an independent valuation.

And shareholders will be asked to ratify a capital raising to fund an acquisition and approve the adoption of a new long-term incentive plan.

COG Financial Services is Australia’s largest equipment finance broker and aggregator, with a claimed 17 per cent market share. The growth of the business has been driven by an aggressive acquisition strategy.

Most recently, it acquired an 80 per cent interest in Access Capital, an asset finance broker in South Australia and the Northern Territory.

It is also an asset finance provider, largely through its 51 per cent ownership of Westlawn Finance. The lending book is currently worth around $200 million. Lending is funded through an unsecured note program and a managed investment scheme.

Net assets financed by the group in the December half were worth $2.2 billion.