Oct 25, 2022

Share There will be eyes on listed asset manager Pacific Current Group’s share register in coming days, to see who’s been aggressively bidding for stock Late on Tuesday, Barrenjoey’s desk crossed 2.6 million Pacific Current shares at $8 a share, which was a 3 per cent premium to where the stock closed on Monday and 8 per cent more than where it finished last week. Street Talk. Louie Douvis Fund managers reckon it’s another institutional investor, rather than a strategic getting set ahead of a takeover. While the stock traded at a premium, it didn’t scream “big suitor desperate to buy the company”. We shouldn’t have to wait long to find out. The stake represented 5.1 per cent of Pacific Current’s shares on issue, which means there will be a substantial shareholder notice due within three days. As for the seller, only River Capital, Regal Funds, Perpetual Ltd, Paradice IM and Michael Fitzpatrick owned substantial stakes as at September 16, according to Pacific Current’s freshly printed annual report. Paradice has since dipped below the 5 per cent mark. Pacific Current owns stake in boutique asset managers based in Australia and offshore, including a 4 per cent stake in ASX-listed GQG Partners. Anthony Macdonald co-edits Street Talk, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets. He has 10 years' experience as a business journalist and worked at PwC, auditing and advising financial services companies. Connect with Anthony on Twitter . Email Anthony at a.macdonald@afr.com Sarah Thompson has co-edited Street Talk since 2009, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets stories. Prior to that, she spent 10 years in London as a markets and M&A reporter at Bloomberg and Dow Jones. Email Sarah at sarah.thompson@afr.com Kanika Sood is a journalist based in Sydney who writes for the Street Talk column. Email Kanika at kanika.sood@afr.com.au Save