At the time of writing, Link shares are down 1.42% to $3.48 apiece, despite the company becoming one step closer to being gobbled up by Dye & Durham (TSX: DND).

As a refresher, at the end of last year, Dye & Durham launched a $2.9 billion takeover bid for Link, offering shareholders base consideration of $5.50 per share.

Since then, there's been plenty of back and forth between regulators and the companies themselves. Ultimately, Link shareholders have accepted a revised offer of $4.81 per share.

Dye & Durham provides mission-critical software for legal, financial, and business professionals. It's listed on the Canadian stock exchange with a current market capitalisation of just over $1 billion.

Interestingly, Dye & Durham's market cap is dwarfed by the potential acquisition price for Link. 

As a result, Dye & Durham lined up a $3.5 billion loan from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Ares Capital. This spooked investors when the details became public in May, sending the Link share price reeling.

Is the Link takeover going ahead?

This morning, Link disclosed that the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) had "no objections" to the proposed takeover. 

This comes after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) gave the deal the green light last week. 

The ACCC was one of the deal's biggest hurdles. The competition watchdog raised concerns over Link's 42.8% stake in PEXA Group Ltd (ASX: PXA), noting:

The proposed acquisition would align PEXA, a near monopoly provider of Electronic Lodgment Network services, with D&D, a significant supplier of software to lawyers and conveyancers, significantly increasing vertical integration in this industry.

To satisfy the ACCC, Dye & Durham will divest its existing Australian business.

However, it had to deal with another spanner in the works earlier this week. In order to gain its seal of approval, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is asking Dye & Durham to put down $519 million towards redress payments relating to the now-collapsed Woodford Equity Income Fund.

The market is yet to receive word about whether or not Dye & Durham will accept this requirement. If it doesn't, the deal could collapse.

According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review, Link's CEO Vivek Bhatia has flown to London in an 'emergency dash' to try to salvage the deal. Bhatia is reportedly in high-level talks with lawyers and the FCA.

In the meantime, Link has pushed back the second court hearing for the proposed transaction to 23 September.  

The wide convergence between the current Link share price and the takeover offer price signals the market's confidence in the deal going through. 

There's currently 38% upside on offer if the deal goes ahead at $4.81 per share.

The post Link share price dips despite Foreign Investment takeover nod appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Shares in the administrative technology company are currently trading 6.26% higher at $4.58 each after reaching an intraday high of $4.71 a share. That represents a 9.28% jump.

This morning, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) gave the green light to a takeover proposed by legal technology company Dye & Durham Corporation (TSX: DND).

The ACCC said it came to its conclusion after accepting a court-enforceable undertaking from Dye & Durham that will see it divest its existing Australian business.

Let's check the details.

Link share price catches bid with ACCC tick

Way back in December 2021, Dye & Durham made its initial proposal to buy Link through a scheme of arrangement.

It originally offered $5.50 per share, however, came back with a revised offer of $4.30 per share more than seven months later.

Spurring the lower valuation was the ACCC's initial involvement in the proposed transaction and the downturn in equity markets this year.

Unsurprisingly, Link declined the offer. This led to another offer of $4.81 per share which Link shareholders eventually accepted with a 98% majority.

The ACCC initially voiced concerns due to Link's ownership of PEXA Group Ltd (ASX: PXA).

Link holds a 42.77% shareholding in PEXA, a company that operates an electronic lodgement network for digital conveyancing settlements. Both Link and Dye & Durham also operate in conveyancing via their exposure to data management and analytics.

"To accept [Dye & Durham's] D&D's proposed undertaking, we need to be satisfied that it will effectively address all competition concerns but is also structured in a way that can be relied upon to be workable and effective," the ACCC said at the time.

ACCC's seal of approval

Now, the competition watchdog has revised its stance after a court order that forces D&D to sell its existing Australian businesses to select buyers approved by ACCC.

"Without the divestment of D&D's Australian businesses, the proposed acquisition would have aligned PEXA, a near monopoly provider of Electronic Lodgment Network services, with D&D, a significant supplier of software to lawyers and conveyancers," the ACCC said today.

"Ultimately, the ACCC concluded that the proposed acquisition, taking into consideration the divestiture undertaking, would be unlikely to substantially lessen competition," it concluded.

Today's price action sees the Link share price down less than 1% over the past 12 months although it remains around 18% lower year to date.

The post Link share price surges 9% on ACCC takeover nod appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.