Lend Lease Corporation Ltd. is selling its 23% interest in IBM Global Services Australia Ltd. to IBM Australia Ltd. for $102 million plus repayment of a $10.2-million shareholder loan to IBM GSA. Telstra will receive $98.7 million for 22.6% stake.
Under the terms of the agreement, IBM Australia Ltd. will pay Lend Lease half the money upon completion of the sale, expected in September, and the remainder 12 months later. How IBM Australia Ltd. will pay Telstra was not immediately available.
The transactions will give IBM full ownership of its Australian IT and consulting services business while Lend Lease receives a premium price for what it considered a non-core investment. Lend Lease says the sale price compares to a book value of its investment in IBM GSA of approximately $27.4 million.
Given the timing of the sale, Lend Lease says it will report a significantly lower level of earnings from the IBM GSA investment in the 2004 financial year than its recent operating earnings guidance announcement.
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