TORONTO – Dye & Durham Ltd. says it has called off its proposed acquisition of Australian company Link Administration Holdings Ltd.

Dye & Durham CEO Matthew Proud says the company is disappointed after the significant time and resources it invested in the deal.

Questions about the future of the deal were raised earlier this week after a U.K. regulator assessed a 50-million-pound penalty against Link Group in addition to a potential restitution payment of up to about 306 million pounds.

Toronto-based Dye & Durham said the draft notice from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) triggered a condition in its takeover agreement.

It had sought to revise its takeover agreement after the FCA said it would not approve the deal unless it covered any shortfall, up to a maximum of 306 pounds million, related to any payments the FCA might levy in its probe into the collapse of a fund that was managed by Link Fund Solutions Ltd.

However, Link Group rejected the proposed changes to its agreement with Dye & Durham.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2022.

Companies in this story: (TSX:DND)