Australia's Link Group eyes stake in India's pension management

Eight years after entering into India through the acquisition of Intime India, Australian Stock Exchange - listed Link Group is eying another acquisition primarily in share registry business to increase its market share in the field and claim the leadership.

The company is in an advanced stage of talks with a couple of companies in the share registry business but yet to strike a deal which it aims to do shortly. Though the company has not set aside any amount for acquisition yet, it says, getting funds is not an issue being a company of Aus $2.7 market cap globally.

The company entered the Indian market in September 2008 and settled the transaction a day after the Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and handled many large IPOs. Link handled over 15 IPOs this year alone in India, the largest in the world. Operating with around 350 employees, Link merged the regional teams to bring in the skill required.

"India is a buoyant market and we are pleased with the growth of the business here. Our business is in share registry. But, we are looking to expand our business through possible acquisition in the same or different space. Our current interest in India could be to increase our market share and potentially making other acquisitions as the market consolidates. Our focus has been the share registry business. But, our equally focused area could be Indian pension system which has been recently centralized. We think that might be equally competitive and the system would be open for competition. We hope to get an opportunity to bring in the technology we developed in Australia to India," said John McMurtrie, Group Managing Director, Link Group.

Link Intime is an integrated player in the initial public offering (IPO) and corporate registry business with pan India reach and reputation. Over time, Link Intime has become one of the largest and most trusted names in the IPO and corporate registry industry, with a credible and distinguished history of excellence. Link Intime's success is as much due to the integrity of its approach towards the registry business as to the exceptional service quality that it offers to its Clients and their Investors.

"When you chase something, you never get it. So, for Indian markets we are patient. But, we hope to get an opportunity to enter into Indian pension system in two years," said McMurtrie.

Employed currently 350 people in India, Link Group is a market leading provider of technology-enabled administration solutions for over 2500 clients globally, servicing an underlying stakeholder base of over 10 million superannuation account holders and over 25 million individual shareholders.