Regal conducts due diligence on Platinum AM

After being politely rebuffed in late September, the Regal Partners takeover bid for Platinum Asset Management is back on.

Regal confirmed to the Australian Securities Exchange on Friday that it had signed a confidentially deed with Platinum and that it would shortly enter a period of due diligence.

It said the purpose of the due diligence “is to further establish the merits and value of the proposed combination and determine whether any improved offer would be in the best interest of, and accretive to, Regal shareholders.

The ASX announcement said the discussions remained preliminary and incomplete and there was no certainty that they would lead to an improved offer or transaction.

Regal’s confirmation of the diligence came at the same time as it announced to the ASX that its Funds Under Management had risen to $17.2 billion in the September quarter, representing a 41% increase.

It said the increase (excluding acquisitions) was driven by a combination of continued net client inflows and positive investment performance across a range of investment strategies.