Trust Company has announced it plans to sell its 50 per cent stake in BNY Trust Australia to its joint venture partner, The Bank of New York Mellon(BNY Mellon), for a cash consideration of $39.2 million before tax.

After tax, this equates to about $1 per share, which will be distributed to shareholders upon settlement and is expected to be completed by late June.

The transaction will allow BNY Mellon to expand its Australian presence in providing corporate trust and agency services to issuers of corporate debt.

In announcing the sale, Trust also reported an increase of 18 per cent in operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to $23.1 million for year ended February 29, 2008.

This result represents a final fully franked dividend of 30 cents per share, bringing the year’s total to 54 cents per share.