In an ASX listing on Thursday, Platinum said that after considering the bid, its board has “unanimously concluded that the current terms of the Regal proposal undervalue Platinum”.
As a result, it said, the proposal is not in the best interests of Platinum shareholders.
The fund manager’s board arrived at the conclusion after considering factors such as Platinum’s stand-alone value in a potential change of control, its current turnaround strategy and growth plans, the value and impact of Regal’s share consideration proposal, and the conditional nature of the offer, which would require due diligence, board recommendation, and various approvals, it said.
“The board remains open to considering control proposals for Platinum from Regal or other third parties but will only progress any such proposals if they are on terms that deliver and recognise appropriate value for Platinum shareholders,” Platinum said.
Regal has had a 5.5 per cent stake in Platinum since 2022, which it acquired via a number of smaller acquisitions over a period of a few months.
Its bid to acquire the shares in Platinum it does not already own fuelled renewed attention for the troubled asset manager with Wilson Asset Management emerging last week to hint at a possible offer.
On Friday, Geoff Wilson, chairman and chief investment officer at Wilson Asset Management, told InvestorDaily the firm is considering Platinum as a potential acquisition.
“It’s an interesting play and we’re assessing it,” he said. “We haven’t said that we’re going to bid, we haven’t announced a bid, we haven’t said we’re not going to bid. But to me, it’s an interesting play.”
Capital Brief also reported that Challenger Group could be interested in the fund manager. However, responding to InvestorDaily’s request for comment, Challenger said that as a listed stock, “We don’t comment on market speculation.”
