There are many fans of investing house Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL) on the ASX. That's what you tend to get when an ASX share like Soul Patts has been around for more than a century, and has built up a formidable performance track record in the process.
So some investors might notice something strange has happened to Soul Patts shares today. For a very long time, Washington H. Soul Pattinson has traded under the ticker code 'SOL', as we touched on above. However, searching for that ticker code today would be an unsuccessful endeavour. Shares under the SOL ticker last traded yesterday and are frozen at $40.32 each. They don't appear to be available on the market anymore.
However, if one is searching for a company called Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co, one might come across an almost identical listing. It's called Washington H. Soul Pattinson, or something very similar at least. Its ticker code, however, isn't entirely familiar. Rather than SOL, these shares are trading under the ticker 'SOLDA'.
SOLDA shares are having a great day thus far. Rather than the $40.32 SOL stock closed at yesterday, these SOLDA shares are up 3.77% to $41.84 each at the time of writing.
So what's going on here?
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What's up with Soul Patts shares right now?
Well, nothing too odd or nefarious. This is the first stage of the blockbuster merger that Soul Patts is currently undertaking.
Back in June, we revealed that Soul Patts and its longtime ASX cousin, Brickworks Ltd (ASX: BKW), had agreed to a merger. This would see both companies dissolve and reform into a single entity.
Soul Patts and Brickworks have been partners for decades. Both owned significant ownership stakes in the other, so this merger arguably makes a lot of sense through that lens.
Since the merger has gotten the ticks of approval from both shareholders and regulators, it was put into motion this week. Yesterday was the last day that both Brickworks and the old 'SOL' Soul Patts shares traded in their own rights.
Today, both SOL and Brickworks shares have been suspended from the stock exchange. In their place are 'deferred settlement' shares of the new company. This new company has the temporary name 'TopCo' but will eventually regain the old title of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd.
So buying SOLDA shares today is effectively a purchase of the new Washington H. Soul Pattinson. The shares will officially complete their metamorphosis from SOLDA back to SOL by 25 September. That's when Brickworks and the old SOL shares will officially delist from the ASX.
It's a big transition for two of the ASX's oldest shares.
