Link Administration’s investors approved Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s A$1.2 billion ($781.68 million) buyout bid at a shareholder meeting on Wednesday.
Mitsubishi UFJ in December lodged a bid that would see Link shareholders receive A$2.10 in cash, as well as a A$0.16 per share dividend if the offer was approved.
Around 99% of the votes cast by Link shareholders were in favour of the bid, which still remains subject to a court approval at a hearing scheduled on April 30, Link said in a statement.
The bid values Link, a pension administration business, at A$1.2 billion on an equity basis and was a 33% premium to Link’s closing share price on the last day of prior trading before the bid arrived. Link’s enterprise value, which includes debt, stands at A$2.1 billion under the offer’s terms.
Link shares ended the day 0.2% higher at A$2.245 and are nearly 3% higher so far in 2024, according to LSEG data.
The stock was trading at A$1.09 in late November before Mitsubishi UFJ emerged as a buyer in mid-December.
The Japanese financial conglomerate was already a Link shareholder with a 6.4% stake in the firm prior to the bid.
Link is considered the largest Australian pension administration company, providing services to 10 million accounts, or approximately 41% of Australian private pension members.
It also has a share registry business in Australia, Britain and India.
($1 = 1.5352 Australian dollars)
Reuters