It's been a rather pleasant day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and most ASX 200 stocks so far this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the Index has gained a healthy 0.37% and is back above 7,765 points.
But let's talk about one ASX 200 stock that's faring even better.
That stock is employment classifieds share Seek Ltd (ASX: SEK). Seek shares closed at $22.68 each yesterday afternoon. But this morning, those same shares opened at $23.10 and are currently up an eye-catching 4.7% at $23.74.
It appears investors are excited about the announcement Seek just made to the ASX.
Before market open this morning, Seek released an update for investors to digest. This update informed the markets that the company would be in line to receive a US$85 million ($130 million) windfall. That's thanks to the sale of some of its assets.
ASX 200 stock in line for $130 million payday
Seek has reportedly entered into a binding agreement to offload 98.2% of its stake in OCC Mexico and 100% of its stake in Catho Online. The buyer is the Spanish employment company Red Arbor Holding, S.L.
Red Arbor has agreed to pay Seek US$85 million for these assets. That's in addition to "customary working capital and other adjustments".
US$20 million of that sum will be held in an escrow account as "security against certain representations and warranties given by SEEK in connection with the transaction".
Interestingly, Seek noted that "this is a negotiated sum and is not an estimate of SEEK's future liability in relation to those matters".
Seek estimates that this transaction can be completed by the end of this month, June 2024. The proceeds have been earmarked for the reduction of Seek's debt load.
The company has told ASX 200 stock market investors that these sales are expected to result in a $15-35 million net loss on sale after tax. This is a result of factors like tax impacts, transaction costs, and foreign currency losses.
Saying that, Seek reassured investors that there has been no material change to the company's earnings guidance for the 2024 financial year as a result of these sales.
As we mentioned above, it seems that ASX 200 stock market investors are approving of today's announcements. That's going off the decisive movements of the Seek stock price.
Seek stock price snapshot
Despite today's move higher, Seek shares have had a rough time on the ASX boards of late. The ASX 200 stock remains down by almost 11.5% year to date. However, shares have risen by 1.45% over the past 12 months.
Even so, long-term investors have endured a 33% drop or so from Seek's last all-time high of over $35 a share. That came back in late 2021.
At the current Seek share price, this ASX 200 stock has a market capitalisation of $8.46 billion. The company is currently trading with a dividend yield of 1.77%.
