Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) has announced a merger between its Aussie Home Loans business and Lendi.
Aussie is a large mortgage broker provider which has been operating for nearly 30 years. It has 970 brokers across 210 locations. It currently has over $70 billion in home loans.
Lendi is an online mortgage broker provider which has helped customers settle more than $12 billion of loans. It currently manages $7 billion of home loans with 400 people in the team.
The merger
CBA talked up the deal saying that it would bring together Aussie’s significant network, strong brand and experience, combined with Lendi’s technology and platform.
The idea is that the two businesses will support each other’s growth and deliver a range of additional benefits over time for customers and brokers including enhanced digital capabilities and improved operational efficiencies.
After the transaction is done, CBA will still have a 45% holding of the combined business, whilst existing Lendi shareholders will own 55% of the business.
CBA will also receive a deferred consideration and a pre-completion dividend of $105 million in total. However, CBA doesn’t expect the deal to have a material financial impact on CBA’s capital position.
Management comments
CBA CEO Matt Comyn said: “We believe that the combined business will have a stronger platform to offer enhanced digital capabilities for Aussie brokers and a superior experience.”
Lendi CEO and co-founder David Hyman said: “The role of digital technology in strengthening customer outcomes, compliance and operational agility is only growing in importance and by coming together with a robust and trusted business like Aussie, we will be able to drive even stronger outcomes for more homeowners and brokers alike.”
Summary thoughts
Lendi isn’t actually a listed business, so you can’t get direct exposure to it, but there is an investment company called Bailador Technology Investments Ltd (ASX: BTI) that does have a position in the unlisted tech business. The Bailador share price is up 2.5% at the time of writing.
In the financials space, I think I’d rather invest in something like Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) than CBA which has more growth potential.
