Three days after rejecting their offer, Link says its private equity stalkers have lifted their bid in a bid to win the company’s OK, adding plans to spin off the PEXA real estate business if the deal happens.
Link said private equity firms Carlyle Group and Pacific Equity Partners raised their takeover 4% offer for the shareholder registry firm to $2.87 billion
The new proposal also includes an option to acquire a stake in PEXA, the online property transaction firm that Link holds a 44% stake in, and buy Link without it for $3.80 a share.
The new offer by Carlyle and Pacific Equity values the Link at $5.40 per share, nearly 4% higher than the earlier price, and at a 10.2% premium to Link’s last close.
The proposal has received further backing from shareholders, with owners of more than 14.6% of Link supporting the consortium’s revised bid.
Link dismissed the first offer last Friday saying it undervalued PEXA but said it would consider spinning-off the 44.2% stake it holds into a listed company.
The private equity duo in a separate statement said they will work with Link to list PEXA, in which Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Morgan Stanley also hold interests.
Link shares closed up 0.8 at $4.94 on Monday. That’s still well under the $5.40 offer price, indicating investors are not convinced yet that the deal will happen.
