Link’s UK unit faces $57 million penalty over Woodford fund investigation

(Reuters) – Australia’s Link Administration said on Wednesday UK’s financial watchdog issued a draft notice assessing a penalty of 50 million pounds ($56.86 million) on Link Fund Solutions (LFS) in addition to a potential redress payment of 306.1 million pounds.

LFS, which managed the now defunct LF Woodford Equity Income Fund, is being investigated by UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for the fund’s collapse in June 2019 which left more than 300,000 investors nursing losses.

Concerns over the penalty and redress payment was the primary cause for Canadian software firm Dye & Durham Ltd to cut a fifth from an already-agreed buyout price of A$2.47 billion ($1.65 billion) for the Sydney-based share registry firm, casting doubts over the long-running deal talks.

Link said it has not made any commitment to fund or financially support LFS, and considers any liabilities related to the Woodford matters to be confined to the fund manager.

($1 = 0.8794 pounds)

($1 = 1.4948 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)