SYDNEY: Australia’s Link Administration Holdings says Canadian software firm Dye & Durham (DND) has lowered its buyout offer, now valuing the share registry firm at A$1.95bil (US$1.31bil or RM5.94bil), citing the United Kingdom financial watchdog’s conditions for the takeover.

The Australian competition regulator last week approved the A$2.47bil buyout, ending a nine-month saga involving multiple offers for Link’s stake in online property settlement firm PEXA Group.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) earlier this month said Link Fund Solutions, one of seven UK-regulated entities owned by Link which managed the defunct LF Woodford Equity Income Fund, could be forced to pay up to £306mil in redress.

More than 300,000 investors took losses from the fund’s collapse in June 2019 due to liquidity issues, which the FCA has been investigating.

DND told Link in a Sept 18 letter it could not accept FCA’s conditions, which would push the Sydney-based company to set aside provisions to pay the potential fines.

 - Reuters