By Alice Uribe

SYDNEY--Online property platform company Pexa Group Ltd. clawed back early losses on its Australian market debut today, with its shares settling just above the issue price.

Shares opened at 17.00 Australian dollars (US$12.73), down 0.8% when compared to their A$17.13 issue price. After hitting a low of A$16.40, shares rallied to close at A$17.15. That gives the company a market value of A$3.04 billion after its first day of trading.

Pexa said Thursday it had raised A$1.17 billion in its initial public offering through the issue of 68.6 million shares.

"Our listing today on the ASX marks another important milestone for Pexa, as we look to explore opportunities to take our experience and expertise into new markets in Australia and internationally," said Pexa Chairman Mark Joiner.

Pexa's float, the biggest locally since June 2018, comes as house prices in Australia continue to soar against the backdrop of low-interest rates which has seen property demand skyrocket. Pexa's digital settlement platform is used by conveyancers and lawyers and handles around 80% of all property transactions in Australia.

Ahead of the float, Pexa on Thursday said its property market volumes remain strong at the end of fiscal 2021, with transaction volumes through its exchange in the fourth quarter more than 4% ahead of those forecast in its June prospectus.

More than 960,000 Pexa Exchange transactions were processed in the fourth quarter, compared to 923,000 forecast, while volumes were more than 48% above the prior corresponding period in fiscal 2020, the company said.

The IPO comes after months of uncertainty as Link Administration Holdings Ltd. considered both a sale of its Pexa stake, as well as a float with other shareholders Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The property platform company was the subject of bids from private equity, as was Link itself, before a decision to IPO was made.

On listing, Link holds 42.8% of Pexa shares on issue, a reduction on its prior 44% shareholding. Commonwealth Bank of Australia holds 23.9%, and the balance to be held by new institutional and retail investors, employees, directors and practitioner partners, said Pexa.

"Link Group is very pleased with the outcome of the Pexa IPO process. Both institutional and retail demand for shares has been strong and Pexa commences as a listed company with a high quality register of investors," said Link Chief Executive Vivek Bhatia.

"Link Group will retain its significant holding in Pexa, supporting and benefiting from its future growth, while the net cash proceeds Link will receive from the process will improve the strength and flexibility of Link's balance sheet," Mr. Bhatia said.

Link on Tuesday said the conclusion of the IPO would generate A$180 million of net cash proceeds for Link, which it would use to pay down debt initially before reviewing other options ahead of its fiscal 2021 results in August.

Analysts at Citi said Link may launch an on market share buyback worth up to A$100 million in the wake of the IPO, with this potentially being announced ahead of its full year result in August.

Pexa, which has seen its exchange transaction grow from 10,000 transactions a month in December 2015, to more than 300,000 transactions in March 2021, is looking to expand its footprint into the U.K. in 2022.

The company forecasts it will deliver revenue of A$218.5 million in fiscal 2021, with this growing by 13% to A$246.9 million in fiscal 2022.

Write to Alice Uribe at alice.uribe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-01-21 0248ET