Acquisition of margin lending portfolio

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited (ASX:BEN) (BEN) is one of Australia’s largest banks, with over 2 million customers, 100,000 shareholders, 7000 employees and gross assets under management in excess of $76 billion.

Piper Alderman advised BEN on its entering into a sale and purchase agreement with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ). The deal would allow BEN to acquire ANZ’s margin lending portfolio, which had a portfolio value of approximately $715 million with approximately 11,900 customer facilities at 31 May 2022.

The acquisition will allow BEN to further grow its margin lending business, Leveraged Equities Limited (LE), one of the leading and longest established margin lenders in Australia.  The acquisition is expected to take the combined value of LE’s margin lending portfolio to more than $2 billion at completion.

The Piper Alderman deal team advised BEN across all stages of the transaction lifecycle, including in relation to preliminary negotiations, drafting and negotiating the transaction documentation and advising on all related matters in respect of the transaction.  Assisting the deal team, partners and their teams also provided expert advice in respect of a number of specialist issues as part of the transaction process. The experience across the team made it more effective in guiding the clients on the transaction.

Client feedback

Nick Clark, Head of Legal Operations at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank said:

“Thanks to James and the Piper Alderman team for their ongoing provision of timely and commercially sound legal advice, which allowed BEN to enter into the transaction with confidence.  The acquisition aligns with BEN and LE’s growth strategy and ambition to maintain LE’s market leading position in the margin lending industry in Australia.”