Link gives access to Pacific Equity Partners and The Carlyle Group

Link Administration Holdings will give Pacific Equity Partners and The Carlyle Group access to due diligence materials.

Link Group chief executive John McMurtrie. Picture: John Feder/The Australian.

Link Administration Holdings will give Pacific Equity Partners and The Carlyle Group access to due diligence materials despite telling shareholders that the revised offer it received from the consortium does not represent compelling value.

The admin services group on Wednesday also said it needed to investigate further the viability of the proposal to separate the Property Exchange Australia, or PEXA, and Link assets.

“However, the board considers that it is appropriate to provide the consortium with due diligence information on a non-exclusive basis so that it can develop a proposal that may be capable of being recommended to shareholders,” Link said in an update to the market after the close on Wednesday.

The due diligence information will be provided subject to a confidentiality agreement and protections for Link Group, including a standstill clause, it said.

“There can be no certainty that such a proposal will eventuate and shareholders do not need to take any action in relation to the revised proposal and the board will update shareholders as appropriate.”

Link on Monday told the market that the Pacific Equity Partners and The Carlyle Group consortium had submitted a revised offer for the admin services firm of $5.40 per share.

The offer also included a scrip alternative in the form of a cash offer for Link Group excluding its 44 per cent holding in PEXA, of $3.80 per share, along with the ability to take an indirect interest in its PEXA holding.

It came after Link on Friday rejected a $2.8bn takeover bid by the consortium on the basis that it undervalued the company.

The suitors said they would withdraw the new offer if not given access to due diligence materials by 5pm on Wednesday.

“The board continues to examine the structural alternatives as disclosed in Link Group’s announcement dated October 23, including a separation and demerger of PEXA,” Link said.

The revised proposal is non-binding and subject to numerous conditions, including due diligence, approval from consortium investment committees and securing debt financing, the admin services group said.

Link chairman Michael Carapiet at the company’s annual general meeting on Tuesday said the company’s focus was on protecting shareholders’ interests and the continuity of its services to its clients.

Link shares finished the session down 0.41 per cent at $4.82. The update on the takeover proposal was released after the market close.