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PEXA secures $1.17bn IPO

PEXA Group Limited, the operator of Australia’s leading property settlement platform, has been advised by Allen & Overy on its $1.17 billion IPO as part of its dual-track IPO and trade sale process.

user iconNaomi Neilson • 16 July 2021 • SME Law
PEXA secures IPO
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Firm: Allen & Overy (PEXA Group Limited) 

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Deal: PEXA’s initial public offering has been ultimately successful, with assistance from Allen & Overy (A&O), with PEXA listing on the Australian Securities Exchange with an indicative market capitalisation of $3.04 billion and enterprise value of $3.3 billion, making it the largest IPO since 2019. 

Value: $1.17 billion IPO; ASX listing with indicative market capitalisation of $3.04 billion and enterprise value of $3.3 billion. 

Area: IPO. 

Key players: The team was led by partner Tony Sparks, supported by partner Meredith Campion, senior associate Nick Harford and Rebecca Anton, and lawyers Isobel Smith, Ashton Pyke, Oliver Mills and James Clark. 

The US securities deal was led by partner Mark Leemen, supported by Peerpoint consultant Nicole Morath and lawyer Edward Ren. The trade sales team was led by partner Michael Reede, supported by counsel Daniel Harris, senior associate Saranpaal Calais and lawyers Varsha Srinivasan, Nicholas Hay and graduate Janna Tay. 

Across debt advice, tax workstream, anti-trust and due diligence on anti-bribery and corruption came from: 

  •     Partner Adam Stapledon (debt), with senior associate Catherine Dawson and lawyer Vivienne Zhang. 
  •     Partner Ka Sen Wong (tax), with lawyer Matthew Parsons.
  •     Partner Peter McDonald (anti-trust), with lawyer Lachlan Shelley. 
  •     Partner Jason Gray (due diligence), with lawyer Steven Shuldman. 
Deal significance: PEXA was formed in 2010 as part of a co-operative initiative between the Commonwealth and state governments to transition property lodgement and settlement away from an outdated paper-based process to a more efficient digital settlement process. 

Mr Sparks said the team advised on all aspects of the transaction in addition to a diligence role in respect of the trade sale. This included advice on PEXA’s new $335 million debt facility, tax advice in structuring the offer, ongoing regulatory advice across all workstreams, and specialist due diligence on anti-money laundering, anti-bribery and corruption matters. 

“Having worked with PEXA since 2017, our team at A&O has seen first-hand the rapid growth of transaction volumes on PEXA’s platform. Today, more than 80 per cent of all property transactions in Australia are completed through PEXA, and more than $1 trillion in property values has been settled through PEXA. The IPO is another step in the company’s swift growth in Australia and overseas,” Mr Sparks commented. 

“It was a pleasure to work with PEXA again, drawing on the expertise of multiple teams within A&O to provide such a broad spectrum of advice on this complex matter. We congratulate PEXA on its highly successful IPO.”

Naomi Neilson

Naomi Neilson

Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly. 

You can email Naomi at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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