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- ASX 200-listed funds manager Perpetual (PPT) rejects a $1.7 billion takeover bid from a consortium of buyers led by Regal Partners (RPL)
- Regal and the BPEA EQT Fund offered to take full control of Perpetual for $30 per share — a price Perpetual claims “materially undervalues” the business
- Regal CEO and Managing Director Brendan O’Connor maintains the offer is a “more attractive” option for PPT shareholders than proceeding with the company’s planned acquisition of Pendal Group, first announced in August
- Perpetual says the Regal offer is not in the best interests of its investors, and it urged shareholders to take no action at this time
- Shares in Perpetual are up 6.9 per cent to $28.76 and Regal shares are up 5.97 per cent to $2.84 at 2:57 pm AEDT
ASX 200-listed funds manager Perpetual (PPT) has shot down a $1.7 billion takeover bid from a consortium of buyers led by Regal Partners (RPL).
Regal, alongside private equity firm Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) EQT Fund, launched an unsolicited offer to take full control of Perpetual for $30 per share — a 23.3-per cent premium to Perpetual’s 30-day volume-weighted average price to November 2.
The Perpetual board promptly rejected the offer, claiming it materially undervalued the business, especially in light of Perpetual’s planned acquisition of Pendal Group, first announced in August.
Nevertheless, Regal CEO and Managing Director Brendan O’Connor maintained the consortium’s offer was “more attractive than maintaining the status quo and proceeding with the proposed acquisition of Pendal”.
“We are delighted to form a consortium with the BPEA EQT Fund to enable the approach to Perpetual and provide a compelling opportunity for our shareholders to create a leading ASX-listed provider of active investments globally,” Mr O’Connor said.
“We hold the Perpetual Asset Management investment teams in high regard and look forward to the opportunity to engage with the key personnel who we view as critical to the success of the asset management business going forward.”
Perpetual’s share price touched over $42 in September last year but has slowly trickled down ever since, closing as low as $23.19 just last month.
Regal said if the two businesses were to join forces, they would hold over $90 billion in assets under management across traditional and alternative asset classes, servicing a “deep pool” of client relationships across multiple channels.
Alas, Perpetual said the offer was not in the best interests of its investors, and it urged shareholders to take no action at this time.
Shares in Perpetual were up 6.9 per cent to $28.76 and Regal shares were up 5.97 per cent to $2.84 at 2:57 pm AEDT.
