Mitsubishi offers Christmas M&A miracle Down Under

Link Administration Holdings

18/12/2023 12:46

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are their own.  Updates to add links.)
       MELBOURNE, Dec 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Mitsubishi
UFJ Financial  8306.T  may have just revived the Christmas
spirit at Link Administration  LNK.AX . On Monday the Japanese
financial services giant agreed to buy the Australian investor
services firm for A$1.1 billion ($740 million), a year after a
previous takeover attempt collapsed during the festive season.
    Link, which provides services to 41% of Australian private
pension accounts, has effectively been on the block for three
years, with suitors including Carlyle  CG.O , Pacific Equity
Partners, KKR  KKR.N  and SS&C Technologies  SSNC.O . Then
Canada’s Dye & Durham  DND.TO  made what seemed a decisive A$2.8
billion Yuletide pounce in 2021, but that was derailed by the
buyer’s own falling stock price and trouble at the target’s UK
subsidiary. Link has since sold that and another unit and handed
its 38% stake in mortgage processor PEXA  PXA.AX  to
shareholders.
    The cleaned-up, slimmed-down core represents MUFG’s seventh
acquisition in this corner of the industry, and comes on top of
a number of banking deals the broader company has struck in the
past couple of years from Thailand to Vietnam. Granted, the
price the Japanese are paying means Link’s board has only
managed to rustle up some A$2.4 billion from selling its assets.
But with this latest deal at a 33% premium, including dividends,
the Aussie company’s shareholders can at least enjoy some eggnog
in peace. (By Antony Currie)
    
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 (Editing by Una Galani and Katrina Hamlin)