Computershare Strikes Again
The Age
Thursday March 30, 2000
The Australian registry business Computershare has swallowed another international operator as it continues a program of rapid global expansion.
The company yesterday announced that its British subsidiary, Computershare Services plc, had acquired the Wales-based Exchange Registrars from the accounting firm Pannell Kerr Forster.
Exchange's 42 clients (with about 260,000 shareholdings) include Legal & General Group, Selfridges and Hamleys. Their registers will be transferred to Computershare's SCRIP registration share over the next few weeks.
The cost of the acquisition, believed to be less than 1million ($A2.58million), is barely significant for Computershare, which has a market capitalisation of $4.2billion, but the move is evidence of Computershare's continued penetration into overseas markets.
The acquisition follows Computershare's entry into the United States and Canada in January, with the purchase of the transfer agency businesses of Harris Bank and its parent, Bank of Montreal.
``This latest addition to Computershare's global registry business follows our strategy of growing by acquisition as well as organically," said the managing director of Computershare Services, Mr Julian Leiper. Computershare provides registry services in New Zealand, Britain, Ireland, South Africa and Hong Kong, as well as holding 55per cent of the Australian registry market. A new joint venture between the Australian Stock Exchange and Perpetual Trustees, announced just over a week ago, holds 35 per cent of the Australian market.
Earlier this month, Computershare reported a 15.1per cent increase in half-year revenue to $174.1 million, while its net profit was up 93 per cent to $10.4 million. In announcing the interim results, Computershare's managing director, Mr Chris Morris, said he expected at least a 75 per cent profit rise for the full year.
© 2000 The Age