Online property exchange network PEXA has confirmed the acceptance of a takeover bid following the announcement by a consortium led by the Commonwealth Bank and Link Group earlier this week.
The trade sale transaction came via a 55.4 percent of its shareholders have waving through the offer, which put the minimum enterprise value for the company at $1.5 billion, with the potential to increase the price to $1.6 billion depending on the level of final acceptances.
The conditions of sale and regulatory approval are expected to be sorted by the end of the calendar year statement to the ASX from the listed Link consortium said.
The sale follows an aborted attempt by PEXA to list on the Australian bourse, the latest of which failed to secure the necessary support from negotiations with Macquarie Capital.
PEXA CEO Marcus Price said in a statement that he was “immensely proud” of the company’s achievements over the last eight years as it built and operated Australia’s first online property lodgement and settlement network.
“We have successfully delivered on our COAG mission, and in the process delivered a great return for the state governments, as well as developing infrastructure that will benefit generations of home buyers.
“The sale of the business comes at a natural time in the company’s evolution, to both crystallise a return for shareholders and to transition to a new aligned ownership base,” Price added.
Both Link Group and CBA have been long-time shareholders in PEXA, with CBA sinking an additional $50 million into the company to increase its ownership stake to 16 percent.
Other shareholders include various state land registries underpinning property transactions, who aside from the financial benefit of the sale, will continue to reap the benefits of digital property settlements.
