MUFG Reaches 5.01% Stake in Credit Corp Before Ceasing to Be a Substantial Shareholder
Key Facts
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group disclosed on October 28 that voting interests associated with it had reached 5.01% in Credit Corp Group, making it a substantial shareholder in the Australian company from October 23. The disclosure covered 3,410,747 fully paid ordinary shares, according to the document lodged with Credit Corp. The group said in the disclosure that its substantial shareholder status began on October 23, while it became aware of the holding on October 27 and signed the notice on October 28. But that status did not last; a later announcement showed that MUFG had ceased to be a substantial shareholder following a change in its relevant interests dated October 26. Credit Corp recorded the cessation notice on October 29, a day after the group disclosed that it had crossed the threshold.
The disclosure details show that the percentage combined voting interests associated with entities within the group, and do not describe an announcement of a direct operational purchase of Credit Corp shares. A total of 3,209,064 shares were counted among interests associated with First Sentier Group Limited. The disclosure also said that MUFG holds 100% of the voting power in First Sentier. The group also listed interests associated with Morgan Stanley, on the basis that its voting power in Morgan Stanley exceeds 20%. The disclosure said this association was the basis for including those interests in the relevant interests attributed to MUFG. The 5.01% stake therefore reflects the aggregation of voting interests as reported in the notice, and not necessarily direct holdings disclosed by the parent company.
The loss of substantial shareholder status followed a share sale on October 26, according to the subsequent notice. An entity controlled by First Sentier Group Limited sold 41,810 fully paid ordinary shares. The disclosure said the consideration for the transaction was A$606,391.34. At the same time, the notice referred to smaller purchases through entities controlled by Morgan Stanley. Nevertheless, Credit Corp's announcement recorded that MUFG was no longer a substantial shareholder as of the notice published on October 29. This places the first disclosure, which announced that the threshold had been reached, within a short period that ended three days after the group became a substantial shareholder.
Credit Corp buys and collects distressed debt books from financial institutions in Australia and New Zealand, and is also active in domestic consumer lending. The company said its net profit after tax rose 12% in fiscal 2026 to a record A$105.5 million. It added that earnings grew across all segments, and that its U.S. debt-buying business provided the largest share of the company's growth. U.S. segment earnings rose 57% in the fiscal year, while lending volume increased 15% to a record, taking the lending book to A$510.5 million at period-end. Return on equity also rose by two percentage points to 13%, alongside the launch of consumer lending operations in the U.K.
In its presentation to the October 27 shareholder meeting, Credit Corp gave fiscal 2027 net profit guidance of between A$112 million and A$120 million. It said the midpoint of this range represents growth of about 10% compared with fiscal 2026. The company reported that U.S. debt-purchase collections rose 23% in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 year on year on a constant-currency basis. In Australia and New Zealand, collections increased 6% over the same quarter. It also said the purchase of the discontinued HSBC card book would represent a record investment in fiscal 2027, with consideration estimated at A$150 million. The company said the final consideration would be determined close to completion of the transaction, which is expected in the first half of the fiscal year.
EL7 data recorded MUFG shares closing at 21.56 on October 30, without specifying the price currency in the data provided. Credit Corp set February 2, 2027, as the release date for its fiscal 2027 half-year results. It also announced that full-year results would be released on August 3, 2027. These dates provide the next milestones for tracking the company's performance after the successive ownership disclosures. For MUFG, the story's outlook notes that its interim results are scheduled for November 13, but that date does not change what Credit Corp's records say about substantial shareholder status. The available picture ends with the cessation notice on October 29, following the share sale recorded on October 26.