so should we buy, hold or sell into this deal?
in the Australian article john says he wants to topple ray white as #1 in Australia. in the comments below the article there was several cynical and sarcastic comments sighting this ambition has long been his but the past years as an listed company has not taken MEA closer to that ambition.
then the recent rich 250 list was published by the Australian with the (ray) white family appearing on there for the first time as some numbers became available (see extract below):2024.03rich list white family worth 660m
Some insight into the inner workings of thehuge real estate group, chaired by White, was finally gained when the financialreport was lodged by a company called Group Administration Australia inOctober. This has put White on The List for the first time. Owned by White andhis family, the company is their central holding in the large Ray White realestate business. Group Administration Australia made a net profit of $26million in 2023, after a $42 million result the previous year. Revenue was about$178 million in 2023. The White family received about $33 million in dividendsover the two most recent financial years. Even bigger, in revenue terms atleast, is mortgage aggregator Loan Market Group, also controlled by the Whitefamily. It had revenue of $1.6 billion in 2023. White is the grandson of RayWhite and joined the business in 1962, taking over as managing director in 1976.
Presumably this is why John has pivoted from:
1. company owned model to Francise model
2. from public to private ownership
3. real estate sales and rent collector to include a mortgage brokerage solution
as that is the key elements of the business model of (Ray White) the market leader.
so will that mean RollCo will lower operating costs. accelerate growth plans, diversify business into commercial as well as residential and thereby increase returns for ALL shareholders or will minority shareholders be alienated and dominated by a global corporate who sees Australia as a small branch office of its global presence? I am genuinely conflicted here, which way will the wind blow?
thoughts?
