Link Administration shares jumped more than 2% to $8 after the financial services firm completed its capital raising to help pay for its $1.5 billion move into the UK.
The company raised about $700 million in the institutional entitlement offer, which will be used to help fund the purchase of Capita’s asset management services business.
Link offered existing shareholders the opportunity to buy 4 new shares for every 11 already held in an attempt to raise as much as $883 million to fund the deal, with the difference to come largely from a new £485 million bank debt facility.
The new shares were offered at $6.75 each, representing a 13.8% discount to the last closing price a week ago before the shares went into a trading halt on Monday.
In a statement yesterday Link said the institutional entitlement offer was strongly supported by eligible institutional shareholders, who took up over 98%, while the Institutional book build clearing price of $7.70 a new Share, representing an 95 cent premium to the offer price of $6.75 for each new share.
The retail entitlement offer opens on Wednesday, next week on July 5. It is looking to raise around $183 million.
And there was a reminder to Link’s board and management of companies that get big moves offshore wrong (especially in the UK) wrong from the news yesterday (see separate story) of a clean out of the board and management at Slater and Gordon and the change of control for that company to its lenders in a recapitalisation.
