Good evening,

Two years ago, Toronto-listed legal and information services player Dye & Durham’s chief executive Matthew Proud was running rings around takeover target Link Administration Holdings. Now, it’s the Canadian’s turn to be hunted by an Australian suitor.

Street Talk can reveal the $2.4 billion property software PEXA Group has made an informal takeover approach to Dye & Durham, at a time when the ASX-listed player’s shares have gained 18.5 per cent over the past year.

Sources said PEXA already had a stranglehold on Australian land settlements and has been pushing into the UK, and now sees Dye & Durham, which has a market cap of $C1.06 billion ($1.2 billion) as a gateway to expand both its product offering and geographical footprint.

• PEXA courts$1.2 billion financial software player Dye & Durham
• Sayona Mining, Piedmont Lithium in $850 million merger; Canaccord raises $150 million
• Adamantem Capital lobs bid for Close the Loop; secures exclusivity
• Cuscal allocates two-thirds of $336.8 million IPO book: book message
• Regal Investment Fund launches $95 million raise, hires seven brokers

• Nufarm entrepreneur Doug Rathbone a winner in $475 million Elders buyout
• Canva poaches a mastermind of Zoom’s IPO
• APRA warned Cuscal on risk settings ahead of IPO
• Billion dollar gold mine auction kicks off in Queensland

Street Talk can reveal that Sayona Mining, capitalised at $391 million on the ASX, has agreed terms to merge with the $349 million Piedmont Lithium. The deal will create an $850 million lithium player and consolidate the ownership of the North American Lithium (NAL) project in Quebec.

A strong rally in technology and energy stocks pushed the Australian sharemarket to a record closing high on Tuesday.

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