The terms of the acquisition state that the shareholders of Smoove will receive 54 pence for each share they hold. This values the company at £30.8m on a fully diluted basis, or the total number of available outstanding shares.
Smoove’s board of directors will recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the agreement at its next meetings.
If approved, the acquisition is expected to complete in the final quarter of this year and will be funded by cash held by Pexa.
Pexa said the acquisition of Smoove would allow it to expand its presence in the UK by giving it access to the firms on Smoove’s platform and its market share.
It will also allow Pexa to cross-sell to the panel firms of Smoove.
Pexa entered the UK market last year with its digital property exchange platform that aims to shorten the remortgage process.
Glenn King, CEO and managing director of Pexa Group, said: “The acquisition is aligned with Pexa Group’s strategy of enhancing and leveraging our property exchange know-how to deliver growth from different markets, including in other Torrens title jurisdictions, starting with the UK.
“Since entering the UK market, the Pexa Group has launched its first remortgage product, successfully brought two lenders onto the Pexa platform and acquired and progressed integration of specialist remortgage conveyancer, Optima Legal.”
He added: “The acquisition and integration of Smoove into the Pexa UK business will further help us address the many detriments suffered by consumers due to the UK’s fragmented, inefficient conveyancing processes.
“The acquisition will allow us to build additional scale and depth in the UK market, enabling the Pexa product suite to reach more customers, whilst streamlining and improving the UK property transaction experience.”
