Philip King’s Regal Partners Ltd. has made a bid to acquire rival Platinum Asset Management Ltd., as the hedge fund continues its aggressive expansion.
Platinum, based in Sydney, announced on Tuesday that it had received an unsolicited and non-binding proposal from Regal to acquire all of its shares through a scheme of arrangement. Regal confirmed the offer in an exchange filing.
According to the terms, Platinum shareholders would receive 0.274 Regal shares for each Platinum share held, equivalent to A$0.9042 per share.
The total deal is valued at approximately A$526 million ($355 million), based on Monday’s closing price. In addition, Platinum shareholders would be permitted to receive a fully franked special dividend of A$0.24 per share from its own cash reserves.
The offer caused Platinum’s shares to surge over 15% on Tuesday, trading at $1.1 per share. This rise helped offset some of the stock's losses this year, reducing its decline to about 15%. Regal’s shares also saw a modest increase, up 1.5%.
Regal Partners, which manages almost A$17 billion in assets—up from A$4.7 billion just two years ago—has expanded from its origins as a long-short equities fund with a small four-person team in 2004 to a global investment manager covering private markets and alternatives. It now operates from offices in Sydney, Singapore, and New York.
Platinum, which focuses on global equities, has been struggling recently. Its latest earnings report showed a 15% drop in average funds under management compared to the previous year, and net income fell by 44%. The firm also recorded A$331 million in net outflows for August.
Platinum cautioned that there is no certainty that discussions with Regal will move forward or that it will grant due diligence access.
