Share registry firm buys Canada asset
Computershare bought a string of share registry companies in recent years to boost its international revenue, which accounts for about 76 per cent of total income. Olympia has 650 clients, including 339 publicly listed companies.
Darren Murphy, head of treasury and investor relations, said the transaction was a small "bolt on" acquisition and "minuscule" compared with the large North American purchase in 2011.
"This type of transaction is a genuine bolt on that typically comes with significant synergies that we can extract," he said. "We can take all the information off their systems and put it on ours, consolidate IT, personnel and housing costs."
Computershare last year doubled its North American presence by spending $550 million to buy Bank of New York Mellon's share-owner services division.
Mr Murphy said there was little opportunity for Computershare to make further large scale acquisitions given its market share.
"We generally come up against competition hurdle when it comes to acquisitions," he said.
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Computershare acquired Canada’s Olympia Corporate and Shareholder Services and its assets for about $44 million, expanding its share registry operations in that market.
The purchase is a bolt‑on acquisition aimed at boosting Computershare’s international revenue and client base. Management said the deal brings synergies—like consolidating systems, IT, personnel and housing costs—that should improve efficiency.
Olympia serviced about 650 clients in total, including 339 publicly listed companies, which adds a meaningful roster of issuer clients to Computershare’s registry business.
Computershare described the transaction as a small “bolt on” and “minuscule” compared with its much larger North American purchase in 2011. The company also recently spent $550 million to buy Bank of New York Mellon’s share‑owner services division, which doubled its North American presence.
The Olympia deal is consistent with Computershare’s strategy of acquiring share registry firms to grow international revenue. However, management says there is limited scope for further large‑scale deals because of Computershare’s market share and the competition hurdle for big acquisitions.
Computershare already generates about 76% of total income from international operations. Acquiring Olympia adds clients and regional capability, and management expects to extract cost and operational synergies that support international revenue growth.
Computershare expects to migrate Olympia’s data onto its systems and consolidate IT platforms, personnel and housing costs—standard post‑acquisition efficiencies that can reduce operating costs and streamline service delivery.
According to the company’s treasury and investor relations head, there is little opportunity for further large‑scale acquisitions given Computershare’s market share. The firm typically encounters a competition hurdle when pursuing big deals, so future activity is likely to focus on smaller bolt‑on transactions.
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