Morningstar backs $9 billion Soul Patts-Brickworks merger; sees non-financial gains

Washington H. Soul Pattinson and

04/08/2025 22:17

** Analysts at Morningstar recommend shareholders in both Washington H Soul Pattinson SOL.AX (Soul Patts) and Brickworks BKW.AX to vote in favour of their $9 bln merger

** Though merger does not create fundamental shareholder value, it reallocated the value between shareholders in SOL, BKW and other investors in the equity raising — investment research firm

** Says the deal, effectively a takeover, is timed opportunistically and modestly undervalues BKW, the smaller party

** Morningstar flags non-financial benefits for BKW investors, with the deal addressing long-standing governance overhang from the cross-shareholding

** Adds, having surged since the merger announcement, both BKW and SOL stocks are currently undervalued

** Australian investment firm SOL is buying out its building products affiliate BKW, streamlining the two companies' complex cross-ownership of each other that has been in place for nearly 60 years

(Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru)

((Rishav.Chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com))