Computershare Buys Canadian Outfit
The Age
Friday April 21, 2000
The Melbourne-based share registry group Computershare has broadened its global operations with a $91 million acquisition from Canada's Montreal Trust.
Computershare will acquire the stock transfer firm's business using available cash and debt, with the transaction to completed on May31 subject to regulatory approval.
In February, Computershare gained a foothold in the North American market with its purchase of Harris Bank, the fourth-largest share registry agent in the United States. That deal also included the stock transfer business of the Trust Company of the Bank of Montreal, the third-largest registry agent in Canada.
But the 3 per cent Canadian market share achieved in February is dwarfed by this latest acquisition, which will boost Computershare's operations to cover 65 per cent of Canada's public companies.
Montreal Trust manages the share registers on behalf of 3500 companies and six million shareholders, and has a small share registry business in Denver in the United States.
Computershare's managing director, Chris Morris, said the company was on track to improve its 1999-2000 result by at least 75per cent.
The company expects the latest acquisition to be EPS positive in the first full fiscal year.
The managing director of Computershare Technology Services, Penny Maclagan, said the deal fitted perfectly with the company's global expansion strategy, and offered synergies with Computershare's existing US business.
``The market between the States and Canada is quite close, so the natural fit is to look at the whole North American market," she said.
``Now we've got most time zones covered, from the Americas to Europe and the Asia Pacific."
Said Montreal Trust's president, Bob Chisholm: ``The deal is a win-win for Montreal Trust and Computershare.
``As a subsidiary of Scotia Bank, Montreal Trust will now focus on core business strengths - banking and investment management - while Computershare will leverage its world-class systems and global reach to better serve the increasing internationalisation of Canadian companies."
Scotia Bank, the parent of Montreal Trust, will also acquire one million shares in Computershare, giving it an ongoing interest in the share registry business.
Meanwhile, Computershare this week won a minor victory in its ongoing court dispute with Perpetual Registrars.
Computershare is concerned its confidential information may have been disclosed by Perpetual to Perpetual's proposed joint venture partner, the Australian Stock Exchange. It brought proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria earlier this month.
Justice Marilyn Warren this week ordered both Perpetual and the ASX to provide discovery by April 26. The parties will be in court again on April 28. -- with agencies
© 2000 The Age