Little accepts Link Group’s PEXA offer

One of the last major shareholders of Property Exchange Australia (PEXA), Paul Little, has accepted the offer from the Link Group-led consortium that will now control the electronic settlement company.

Link joined with the Commonwealth Bank and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure last week to buy PEXA for $1.6bn, following the company’s failed attempt to list on the public markets.

The IPO was pulled on the second day of its bookbuild late last month after it emerged that investor sentiment towards the stock had soured as volatility hit markets around the world.

The company was looking to raise between $753m and $862m, valuing it at between $1.8bn and $2.2bn.

But Link’s $1.6 billion bid was enough to convince the board, even though just weeks earlier it had knocked back an offer of that size in favour of a float.

DataRoom understands that Mr Little will sell his 9.65 per cent PEXA holding into the Link offer, which will earn him just shy of $160m. Observers say a paypacket of that size means that Mr Little has more than doubled his investment in just a couple of years. It is believed that he was one of the main proponents of PEXA pursuing an IPO before the market volatility broke out.

Since the Link offer arrived and was recommended by the board, Macquarie has said it will sell its 23.86 per cent stake, which will earn the bank about $400m

Also selling down is the West Australian government (11.83 per cent), Paul Little (9.65 per cent), NSW (6.67 per cent), Queensland (4 per cent) and PEXA Management (2.08 per cent).

The Victorian government owns 7.46 per cent and will make a decision after the state election on November 24.

The retail banks are yet to make a decision but are expected to soon sell their holdings in the offer. ANZ and NAB together hold 1 per cent while Westpac has a 0.55 per cent stake.

Meanwhile, UBS’s head of trading David Singer is retiring from the bank.