Australia’s Link Explores Sale of Unit Tied to Woodford Collapse

The Sydney Harbor Bridge and the skyline of the central business district (CBD) from the Milsons Point suburb of Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. Australian household spending declined for a third consecutive month as the delta variant of coronavirus swept the east coast and nation’s largest cities. Photographer: Lisa Maree Williams/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

Harry Brumpton, Bloomberg News

Oct 19, 2022

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(Bloomberg) -- Australia’s Link Administration Holdings Ltd. is exploring a sale of the UK-based unit that administered a now-collapsed fund run by former star money manager Neil Woodford.

The Sydney-based company “intends to commence a process to explore divestment options for the Link Fund Solutions business, which includes Link Fund Solutions Ltd.,” it said in a statement Thursday. It has appointed Macquarie Capital and UBS Securities Australia Ltd. for the process.

Link Fund Solutions was the fund administrator on the LF Woodford Equity Income fund, which started to be liquidated nearly three years ago. Woodford froze the vehicle in mid-2019 because he couldn’t meet clients’ withdrawal requests, trapping £3.7 billion ($4.2 billion) of investor funds.

The issue eventually scuppered a deal the Australian company had struck with Canadian software firm Dye & Durham Ltd., which attempted to recut and then dropped its takeover offer in light of the liabilities. Dye & Durham has since made an offer for parts of Link’s business. 

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