Pacific Current confirms GQG bid – and that River Capital blocked it

afr.com:

Pacific Current, the ASX-listed owner of boutique fund managers, has confirmed that GQG Partners bid $11 per share for the company – but that its major shareholder, River Capital, did not support a transaction.

Pacific Current had been the subject of an initial bid by Regal Partners and River Capital lobbed in late July, valuing the funds’ management firm  around $555 million. That was swiftly followed by a statement from ASX-listed global fund manager GQG Partners – in which Pacific Current is a shareholder – that it intended to lob its own bid.

Rajiv Jain, chairman and chief investment officer of GQG Partners. Arsineh Houspian

That statement led to a stand-off between Regal and GQG, which is 70 per cent owned by its founder, Rajiv Jain. But Regal said in late September it had withdrawn its bid citing a lack of engagement with the board.

The Regal consortium’s bid was for $7.50 cash and 2.2 GQG shares distributed to Pacific Current shareholders – implying an initial $10.77-per-share consideration. The GQG bid was in the form of a non-binding indicative proposal, Pacific Current said in a statement to the ASX, which revealed an $11-a-share consideration for the first time.

“The [independent board committee] considers the GQG proposal represents an attractive value outcome,” the statement said, adding that it represented a 56 per cent premium to Pacific Current’s average share price in the three months before the Regal and River Capital bid.

However, the company said that it was unable to secure the support of River Capital, which has a 19 per cent stake in Pacific Current.

“GQG has indicated to Pacific Current that it continues to see significant strategic merit in a combination with PAC, and GQG continues to explore