Platinum Asset Management rejects Regal Partners' buyout bid

By Adwitiya Srivastava and Aaditya GovindRao

(Reuters) -Australian fund manager Platinum Asset Management on Thursday rejected a takeover offer from hedge fund Regal Partners, saying that the proposal undervalued the company.

Regal Partners' non-binding proposal grants Platinum investors 0.274 shares and a special A$0.20 dividend per holding.

The offer, made on September 17, valued the fund manager at about A$616.5 million ($420.76 million) and reflected Regal Partners' "broader growth ambitions", Regal said in a statement.

"For long-suffering investors, I'm surprised Platinum did not engage with Regal," said David Blennerhassett, content strategist at financial services firm Ballingal Investment Advisors.

"I wouldn't rule out Regal bumping indicative terms to secure due diligence."

Platinum said it remained open to options from Regal or third parties, but emphasized that any future proposal must reflect the company's value and growth potential.

The company manages over A$12 billion in funds, while Regal, which has over A$16 billion funds under management, has been buying out financial firms over the past year to further boost its standing in the sector.

Shares of Regal Partners ended 2.3% higher.

Platinum shares, down nearly 30% from the start of the year until September 16 following Regal's bid, were up 1.8% at close.

($1 = 1.4577 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Roshan Thomas, Adwitiya Srivastava and Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi, Alan Barona and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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