Computershare

Computershare Limited
Company typePublic
ASX: CPU
IndustryFinancial services
Founded1978; 46 years ago (1978)
Headquarters
Abbotsford, Victoria
,
Australia
Number of employees
14,000[1]
Websitecomputershare.com

Computershare Limited is an Australian stock transfer company that provides corporate trust, stock transfer, and employee share plan services in many countries.

The company currently has offices in 20 countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, Canada, the Channel Islands, South Africa, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Germany, and Denmark.

History

Computershare Limited was founded in 1978 in Melbourne, Australia, and has grown largely through overseas acquisitions.

In 1997, the Australian-based Computershare expanded its registry business to include financial markets in New Zealand and the United Kingdom[2] and acquired the Royal Bank of Scotland's registrar department. In subsequent years, it expanded its business into Ireland, South Africa, and Hong Kong. In 2004, Computershare acquired the stock transfer sectors of Harris Bank and Montreal Trust and purchased the German-based Pepper Technologies AG.[3] Since 2004, Computershare has acquired registry companies in Russia and India.[2]

In 2005, it acquired Equiserve.[4]

In 2006 it bought the shareholder management services from National Bank of Canada.[5]

In July 2007, Computershare acquired Datacare Software Group and its products GCM and Boardworks.[6] Currently known as Computershare Governance Services and its main product GEMS.

In February 2008, Computershare announced a cash takeover offer for Australian mailhouse group QM Technologies Limited.[7]

In September 2008, Computershare bought Lichfield based Childcare Voucher Services business called Busy Bees.[8] The name has been re-branded to Computershare Voucher Services or CVS.

In February 2010, Computershare acquired HBOS Employee Equity Solutions from Lloyds Banking Group for a sum of around £40m.[9]

In January 2012, Computershare acquired Shareowner Services (Stock Transfer Sector) from Bank of New York Mellon (BNYM) for a sum of around $550 Million.[10]

In June 2013, Computershare Limited completed the acquisition of the EMEA–based portion of Morgan Stanley's Global Stock Plan Services business.[11]

Computershare and the firm SETL began collaborating on a blockchain project in 2016.[12] In Nov. 2017, Georgeson LLC, a unit of Computershare Ltd, paid $ 45 million to resolve claims by US prosecutors that it had used bribes to obtain confidential information.[13] The Louisville office of Computershare had 650 employees in May 2018.[14] In Nov. 2018, the chairman of Computershare was Simon Jones. Stuart Irving was CEO.[15]

On 12 November 2018, it completed acquisition of Equatex Group Holding AG, formerly European shares plan business of UBS.[16] The deal had been announced on 16 May 2018.[17] All 220+ employees were expected to transfer to Computershare as part of the acquisition.[17]

On March 23, 2021, Computershare acquired Wells Fargo Corporate Trust business for $750 million[18] in the United States.[19] Around 2,000 employees transferred to Computershare.[20]

In Feb. 2023, Computershare called for an investigation into the exchange ASX for an alleged conflict of interest concerning the CHESS project, which had collapsed in Nov. 2022.[21]

It acquired SunDoc Filings in Sacramento, California in May 2023. Computershare Governance Services at that time was a subsidiary of Computershare Ltd., which was based in Melbourne, and was still traded on the Australian Securities Exchange and had 14,000 employees. It also had operations in around 20 countries after various acquisitions.[22] In Oct. 2023, the company sold its mortgage services unit to Rithm Capital[23] in the U.S. for US$ 720 mln.[24][25]

On April 25, 2024, Computershare announced that it had agreed to acquire BNY Trust Company of Canada, the Canadian corporate trust division of BNY Mellon, effective in the second half of 2024.[26]

In December 2015, the Central Bank of Ireland reprimanded and fined Computershare €322,500 for a number of breaches of the law related to the certainty of ownership of client assets.[27]

Services offered

Computershare primarily provides stock registration and transfer services to companies listed on stock markets, but also offers technology services for stock exchanges, investor services for shareholders and employee share plan management.

References

  1. ^ "Our story". Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Computershare – About Computershare – Company History". Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Computershare develops a taste for Pepper". Fairfax. 4 February 2004. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  4. ^ "Computershare acquires US company". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 October 2004. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  5. ^ "National Bank History". National Bank of Canada. 2008. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  6. ^ "Datacare Acquisition" (PDF). Computershare. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 March 2012.
  7. ^ "Computershare says QMT bid unconditional". The Sydney Mornin Herald. 2 April 2008. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Computershare Voucher Services: Parent Information Pack" (PDF). Computershare. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Computershare Acquires HBOS Employee Equity Solutions | Mergr". mergr.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Computershare Gets BNY Mellon Deal Approval". The Wall Street Journal. 7 November 2011.
  11. ^ "Computershare to Acquire Morgan Stanley's EMEA Shares Business 03-2013". GEO. 11 August 2015. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  12. ^ Kelly, Jemima (28 April 2016). "Computershare teams up with start-up SETL on blockchain project". Reuters. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  13. ^ Raymond, Nate (30 November 2017). "Computershare's Georgeson unit resolves U.S. fraud probe for $4.5 million". Reuters. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Large sign on downtown tower marks Louisville hiring milestone for Computershare". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  15. ^ Kruger, Colin (14 November 2018). "Computershare gets first strike over CEO's expat expenses". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  16. ^ "CPU completes Equatex acquisition" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Computershare to buy Equatex – a European share plans business" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  18. ^ "Wells Fargo Enters Agreement with Computershare to Sell Wells Fargo Corporate Trust Services". www.businesswire.com. 23 March 2021. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Computershare's $1b 'delicate dance' in the US". Australian Financial Review. 24 March 2021. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  20. ^ "Wells Fargo Sells Trust Unit to Computershare for $750 Million". Bloomberg.com. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  21. ^ "Share registry targets ASX's CHESS conflict of interest". Australian Financial Review. 23 February 2023. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  22. ^ "Australia's Computershare to acquire Sacramento's SunDoc Filings". www.bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on 16 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  23. ^ https://www.axios.com/pro/fintech-deals/2023/10/02/rithm-capital-computershare-mortgage-business Archived 19 November 2023 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL]
  24. ^ "CPU ASX: Computershare offloads US mortgages unit for $1.13b". Australian Financial Review. 3 October 2023. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  25. ^ Chatterjee, Rishav (3 October 2023). "Australia's Computershare to sell US mortgage portfolio for $720 mln". Reuters. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  26. ^ "Computershare to buy BNY Trust Company of Canada". www.computershare.com. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  27. ^ "Central Bank fines investor services firm Computershare €322,500". The Irish Examiner. 18 December 2015.