FILE PHOTO: A general view of the lobby outside the Carlyle Group offices in Washington, May 3, 2012. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo/File Photo
November 4, 2021
(Reuters) -Australia’s Link Administration said on Friday it would consider private equity firm Carlyle Group’s A$2.81 billion ($2.08 billion) bid for the shareholder registry firm.
This is Carlyle’s second attempt at buying the Sydney-based firm after approaching late last year as part of a consortium with Pacific Equity Partners. After lobbing improved bids, the private equity duo withdrew https://www.reuters.com/article/link-admnstrn-ma-carlyle-group-idUSL4N2MK59Z earlier this year.
At the heart of a flurry of interest for Link is its stake in online conveyancing firm PEXA Group, which listed https://www.reuters.com/article/pexa-group-ipo-idUSL3N2OD1JM on the Australian stock market in July.
Link said Carlyle’s latest bid includes a A$3 per share bid in cash and a distribution of its stake in PEXA worth A$2.38 a share.
In total, Carlyle values Link at A$5.38 per share, a 24.2% premium to its closing price on Thursday. The private equity did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Link has appointed Macquarie Capital and UBS as advisers and put off its share buyback after having purchased A$101.7 million out of the target A$150 million.
($1 = 1.3514 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Savyata Mishra and Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Arun Koyyur)
