The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has agreed to divest its entire stake in local wealth technology provider IRESS.
Under the agreement, ASX will offload its 18.6% holding in the technology firm.
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The transaction is expected to fetch A$385m ($275.6m).
It involves 32.2 million shares, which are being offered for A$11.95 each.
ASX is currently reviewing its options for the sale proceeds.
The deal is expected to offer $161m in post-tax gain that will be realised in equity.
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By GlobalDataASX managing director and CEO Dominic Stevens said: “IRESS has been an attractive investment for ASX over many years.
“But we believe now is the right time to divest as it no longer provides the strategic value to ASX that it once did.
“ASX is focussed on a multi-layered growth strategy built upon our position as an independent and reliable operator of financial market infrastructure.”
The move ends an 18-year partnership between the two parties, which started when ASX invested in IRESS IPO.
At that time, both were said to concentrate on the equities market in Australia.
According to Stevens, the two businesses have eventually “evolved and expanded”.
IRESS posted revenue of A$465m for the year ended 31 December 2018, up 8% from last year.
The firm’s net profit was A$64.1m in 2018, a year-on-year growth of 7%.
