US-based private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the Nine Entertainment-backed Domain Group are understood to be exploring a move to team up with Pacific Equity Partners and The Carlyle Group to make a full bid for Link Administration Holdings.
DataRoom revealed that Domain Group was bidding for Link’s 44 per cent ownership of Property Exchange Australia before tipping that KKR was joining forces with the online real estate listings company that is 60 per cent-owned by Nine.
However, the latest suggestions are that PEP and Carlyle, which had been vying for the entire listed record-keeping and information solutions company earlier on, has joined forces with the pair and the overall group is said to be a serious contender.
It is understood the plan is for KKR and Domain to take Link’s 44 per cent stake in PEXA and the other private equity groups to own the remainder of Link.
A bid for the entire company would be a major coup for Link’s chairman, former Macquarie Group executive Michael Carapiet, if they put forward a knock-out price.
Domain is understood to be contributing about $120m to the transaction to secure a commercial agreement with PEXA, but apparently there is still plenty of debate around the company’s boardroom about the merits of such a transaction.
PEP, a previous owner of Link, and Carlyle made a bid for Link in October at $5.40 a share, equating to about $2.9bn, or about $2bn without the PEXA interest.
After trading sideways, Link shares have been rallying since the start of the month.
Shareholders were offered the option of retaining the PEXA stake and receiving just $3.80 a share for the remaining part of the business.
While the offer, which was understood to have been led by Carlyle and spearheaded from the PEP side by managing director Cameron Blanks, was rejected, the Link board granted the suitors access to due diligence.
Link, advised by UBS and Macquarie Capital, then opted to explore a potential sale or demerger of the PEXA stake.
An initial public offering has been slated for around September at the latest, with advisory firms UBS, Macquarie Capital, Morgan Stanley, Barrenjoey Capital Partners, Flagstaff Partners and Lazard on the ticket and expectations are mounting that PEXA’s other 40 per cent owner, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, will also be a seller.
PEXA is Australia’s first and only full-service electronic lodgement network operator.
Its core product is the PEXA exchange, which provides integration with land titles offices and state revenue offices, electronic lodgement services and near real-time settlement of funds via the Reserve Bank.
Working with KKR and Domain is Jefferies Australia.
Other groups expected to line up are Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, Partners Group, advised by JPMorgan, Keppel Infrastructure and Affinity Equity Partners.
The other owner of Pexa is CBA.
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