Australia's Link gets 'good interest' for PEXA stake (updated)
31/01/2021 23:23
(Adds detail, CEO quote, background)
Feb 1 (Reuters) - Link Administration Holdings Ltd LNK.AX
said on Monday it received good interest for its stake in its
online property transaction firm PEXA, as it looks to prioritize
its stake sale over a demerger.
PEXA is one of Link's most-prized possessions, as it
processed a record number of monthly transactions in December,
benefiting greatly from a shift to digital channels amid the
pandemic. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2JV0J9
"PEXA's cash balance continues to strengthen month-on-month
highlighting the strong cash-flow conversion of this
investment," Chief Executive Vivek Bhatia said, adding the board
was committed to maximising the value of its stake in PEXA.
Other stakeholders of PEXA include Commonwealth Bank of
Australia CBA.AX and fund Lightyear Investments B.V.
Link earlier rejected buyout offers from U.S.-based SS&C
Technologies Holdings Inc SSNC.O and a Carlyle Group Inc
CG.O -led consortium on grounds that they undervalued core
asset PEXA, announcing its intention to sell its 44.2% interest
to get the most out of its intrinsic value. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2JE0DP
SS&C Technology had offered in December to buy the company
for A$3.02 billion ($2.30 billion), nearly 5% higher than a
rival bid from private equity firms Carlyle and Pacific Equity
Partners. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2IN23H
Link also added in an exchange filing that it was abandoning
its planned 165 million euro ($200 million) acquisition of
Pepper European Servicing Ltd from Pepper Group PEP.AX as the
deal could not get regulatory approvals. nFWN29Z1EB
($1 = 1.3116 Australian dollars)
($1 = 0.8252 euros)
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar and Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru;
Editing by Daniel Wallis and Peter Cooney)
((Sameer.Manekar@thomsonreuters.com; +918061823447;))