Australian Finance Group, a mortgage broking group, announced an agreement to merge with Connective, Australia's leading mortgage aggregator service. Under the transaction, Connective will receive $60m in cash and 31m AFG shares valuing the acquisition at $120m. AFG Chairman Tony Gill said: "The merged business will have a significant national footprint in Australia's $1.8tn home loan market. The delivery of competition and choice to the Australian lending market is at the core of our strategy. The expanded distribution channel and broader diversification of products the combined group can supply will provide greater choice for both brokers and consumers".