ASX Perpetual Registrars Limited (ASX Perpetual), the share registration joint venture in Australia between the Australian Stock Exchange and Perpetual Trustees that competes domestically with Computershare, has acquired the Queensland share registry business of Pitcher
Partners. ASX says the acquisition further strengthens its commitment to and position in the Queensland market.
Pitcher Partners Queensland, an independent member of the national Pitcher Partners association, has built a business with more than 100 clients.
“Pitcher Partners has built a solid position in the Queensland market with a strong commitment to providing high quality service to clients,” says ASX Perpetual’s Managing Director John McMurtrie. “The acquisition is good news for both registrars as well as their clients. ASX Perpetual is committed to premium service delivery and given our technological advantage coupled with their ongoing commitment to grow this business; I believe our clients will benefit from this seamless marriage.”
“We welcome this opportunity to join forces with a like-minded organisation that shares our approach, goals and values,” adds Russell Brown, Managing Partner of Pitcher Partners in Brisbane. “This acquisition will leverage the strengths of both operations”.
ASX Perpetual’s registry management system, oscar, was implemented in late-2001. Most Pitcher Partners clients will be transferred to oscar over the next few months.
In recent years, ASX Perpetual has attracted a number of high-profile clients, including Qantas Airways, Brambles Industries, John Fairfax Holdings, Westpac Banking Corporation, and most recently, WMC Resources.
ASX Perpetual Registrars Limited (ASX Perpetual) is a joint venture between two of Australia’s top 100 listed companies – the Australian Stock Exchange Limited (ASX) and Perpetual Trustees Australia Limited (Perpetual) – with registry origins dating back more than half a century.
ASX Perpetual has around 7.5 million holder records under management and maintains the registers of more than 220 companies, including Telstra Corporation (the largest register in Australia); Commonwealth Bank of Australia; Westpac Banking Corporation; BlueScope Steel; Qantas Airways; Brambles Industries; and John Fairfax Holdings. With offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, ASX Perpetual employs approximately 320 full-time staff to service its clients and their shareholders across Australia and New Zealand.
In 2000, the registrar contracted ASX Operations – the team responsible for the development and maintenance of Australia’s electronic trading and settlement systems SEATS and CHESS – to develop a new registry system exclusively for ASX Perpetual.
oscar (Online Shareholder Communications And Registry system), is the first major software development in the Australian share registry industry in more than 15 years.
oscar is a registered trade mark of ASX Perpetual Registrars Limited.