The divestment of Link Group's stake included by selldown and in-specie distribution
Herbert Smith Freehills has guided Link Administration Holdings Limited on the divestment of its 42.8 percent stake in Property Exchange Australia (PEXA) Group Limited.
Link Group administers financial ownership data and drives user engagement through technology. Its portfolio includes retirement and superannuation solutions, corporate markets, fund solutions, and banking and credit management.
PEXA operates a digital property settlements platform in Australia. The company has offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.
The divestment of Link Group’s stake in PEXA included by selldown and in-specie distribution. Link Group has implemented the in-specie distribution of its interest in PEXA to Link Group shareholders, pursuant to a capital reduction which may be accompanied by a dividend. The market value of the dividend is approximately $860 million as of January 9, 2022.
The dividend distribution follows an earlier selldown by Link Group of 10 percent of its 42.77 percent interest in PEXA, representing 4.3 percent of the issued capital in PEXA for total net proceeds of $101.9 million.
The Herbert Smith Freehills team that advised Link Group was led by corporate M&A partners Tony Damian and Nicole Pedler. The team also included senior associate Jennifer Xue, and solicitors Jacob Lancaster and Nick Venn.
“We are proud to be advising Link Group on this transaction, which will provide Link Group shareholders with direct exposure to PEXA and its potential future growth,” Damian said.
Pedler also commented, “The distribution is an important milestone that unlocks flexibility for Link Group shareholders, and we are glad to have been able to support the Link Group team throughout the transaction.”
Herbert Smith Freehills has earlier announced its efforts in helping Fotowatio Renewable Ventures Australia (FRV) secure project financing of the Walla Walla Solar Farm near Albury. The firm also assisted in the refinancing of FRV Australia’s Moree Solar Farm in New South Wales, and several Green Loan facilities for ACEN Australia.
