By Stuart Condie
SYDNEY--Shares in Australia's Platinum Investment Management surged after the fund manager entered merger talks with privately owned L1 Capital.
The stock rose as much as 16% Thursday after Platinum said it was speaking with shareholders of Melbourne-based L1 over a merger that would create a business with funds under management of about 18 billion Australian dollars, or $11.5 billion.
The merger could deliver material near-term earnings and value accretion for Platinum shareholders, Platinum said. L1 has already bought a 9.6% stake in Platinum from founder Kerr Neilson, with an option to acquire his remaining 9.3% holding.
The stock was recently up 11% at A$0.63. It has lost more than a third of its value since November.
"The combined shareholders are expected to benefit from greater scale and diversity of investment strategies and distribution channels, as well as access to meaningful cost efficiencies," Platinum said.
Discussions are at an early stage and any progress would be subject to conditions including mutual due diligence.
Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 01, 2025 00:23 ET (04:23 GMT)
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