(Adds proxy results in third paragraph and deal details from fourth paragraph on)
Link Administration's (LNK) proxy investors approved Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's 8306.T A$1.2 billion ($782 million) buyout bid at a shareholder meeting on Wednesday.
Mitsubishi UFJ in December lodged a bid that would see Link shareholders receive A$2.10 in cash, as well as a A$0.16 per share dividend if the offer was approved.
Nearly 97% of proxy votes and 78.3% of individual investors voted in favour of the bid, a presentation at the meeting showed.
The bid values Link, a pension administration business, at A$1.2 billion on an equity basis and was a 33% premium to Link's closing share price on the last day of prior trading before the bid arrived. Link's enterprise value, which includes debt, stands at $A2.1 billion under the offer's terms.
Link shares were trading at A$2.24 ahead of the Wednesday vote and are nearly 3% higher so far in 2024, according to LSEG data.
The stock was trading at A$1.09 in late November before Mitsubishi UFJ emerged as a buyer in mid-December.
The Japanese financial conglomerate was already a Link shareholder with a 6.4% stake in the firm prior to the bid.
Link is considered the largest Australian pension administration company, providing services to 10 million accounts, or approximately 41% of Australian private pension members.
It also has a share registry business in Australia, Britain and India.