ASX Limited

ASX:ASX

ASX Limited

ASX:ASX
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$64.46 (-0.4%)
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Forum Topics ASX ASX Possible Takeover

Pinned straw:
Mujo
Added 2 months ago

Seems like speculation every day at the moment but some have played out.

"It’s been more down than up for the ASX in the last few years. That’s not the index, but the market operator, which seriously bungled the roll-out of a crucial upgrade of clearance and settlement systems, resulting in more than casual regulatory scrutiny.

That, and generally poor conditions for new listings since the COVID-19 pandemic, have resulted in a weak share price. Over five years, in fact, it’s down some 14 per cent.

But ASX Limited is still attractive to someone, it seems. Street Talk can reveal a consortium of superannuation funds, including industry giants and major shareholders AustralianSuper and UniSuper, seriously considered lobbing a takeover bid only late last year." per AFR
Strawman
2 months ago

I can totally see how someone would be interested in acquiring ASX Ltd.

For starters, it's essentially a monopoly; something that is evidenced by their 50%-plus NET margins. That's pretty amazing for a business that has a lot of bloat in its cost base (in my opinion). The CEO is paid over $2 million per year!! Outrageous.

And they can sustain operations -- as well as set tens of millions on fire via stupid projects -- while also paying out 85% of after tax profit as dividends! All while holding $1 Billion in cash and virtually no debt.

Frankly, everyone is upset at Woolies for price gouging, but the ASX is the king in this regard. They'll charge you tens of thousands annually just for the right to display price and announcement information (you have to then pay a data provider separately for the actual data). So much for a public market.

Anyway, Buffett says you should want a business even a ham sandwich could run, and this fits the bill in that regard.

Given they are undergoing a huge (and almost certainly highly wasteful) technology replacement program, i'm not an interested buyer at present. But at a yield of 5-6% i'd certainly consider it very seriously.

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