86 400 shareholders approve NAB deal

In January of this year, National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) announced its intentions to buy the two-year-old neobank for $220 million, with plans to merge the neobank with its own digital subsidiary, UBank.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) granted approval to NAB to hold a 100 per cent stake in 86 400 Holdings Ltd and 86 400 Ltd last week.

At the 86 400 scheme meeting and general meeting held on Thursday (6 May), it was announced that 86 400 shareholders had now approved the deal.

86 400 will therefore now apply to the Federal Court for orders to approve the scheme at a hearing, which is scheduled for Tuesday (11 May 2021).

The transaction, which has already received the greenlight from ACCC, would see all 120 people in the 86 400 team become part of the NAB group.

The 86 400 brand will be subsumed into the UBank brand under the deal.

Speaking to Mortgage Business earlier this year, Philippa Watson, CEO of UBank, said: “At this stage, our intention is to retain the UBank name, but brand is more than just a name, so we’ll be working closely with 86 400 to bring as much of the look and feel, customer experience and culture as possible to the combined business.”

When asked whether UBank – which does not currently operate in the third-party channel – would look to distribute through brokers, she said: “We are very impressed by 86 400’s broker business and want to see this broker proposition continue to thrive if we receive the necessary regulatory and government approvals.  

“We will work with the 86 400 team to develop the future model for home lending that brings together the best of our direct lending to customers supported by our great team and 86 400 lending through brokers.”

The acquisition forms part of NAB’s plans to build its UBank brand and “deliver a market-leading digital experience and new product propositions to customers”.

The announcement came on the same day as APRA approved the sale of NAB’s wealth business, MLC Wealth, by IOOF Holdings Ltd.

With regulatory approval now provided by APRA, NAB and IOOF are said to be working towards completion of the transaction on 31 May 2021.

The approval by APRA follows the prior decision by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in December 2020 to not oppose the transaction.

[Related: NAB to acquire 86 400]