Barrenjoey office clears 5pc Pacific Current stake at premium

There will be eyes on listed asset manager Pacific Current Group’s share ledger in the coming days, to see who made aggressive bids for the shares

Late Tuesday, Barrenjoey’s office crossed 2.6 million shares of Pacific Current at $8 a share, a 3% premium to the stock’s close Monday and 8% higher than the end of last week.

Fund managers believe this is another institutional investor, rather than strategic preparation before a takeover. Although the stock traded at a premium, it didn’t scream “big suitor desperate to buy the company.”

We shouldn’t wait long to find out. The stake represented 5.1% of Pacific Current’s issued shares, meaning there will be substantial shareholder notice due within three days.

As for the seller, only River Capital, Regal Funds, Perpetual Ltd, Paradice IM and Michael Fitzpatrick held substantial stakes as of Sept. 16, according to Pacific Current’s freshly printed annual report.

Paradice has since fallen below 5%.

Pacific Current has a stake in boutique asset managers based in Australia and overseas, including a 4% stake in ASX-listed GQG Partners.