The fight for control of troubled fund manager Hunter Hall International has taken a new twist as competing bidders joust to win a key block of shares company from founder Peter Hall.
"It's game on," one fund manager said as rival bidders raised their offers on Friday.
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Peter Hall resigns from Hunter Hall role
Fund manager Peter Hall confirms his resignation as chief investment officer of Hunter Hall stating personal reasons. Vision courtesy ABC News 24.
After being wrong-footed by the election of Donald Trump as US President, which triggered a rebound in global equity markets he had not anticipated, Mr Hall decided at the end of last year to quit the company he founded and sell his controlling 44 per cent shareholding.
Even though Hunter Hall shares were trading at more than $3.20 in the sharemarket, he sold an initial block of 19.9 per cent to Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co at just $1 a share, while telling shareholders they would be crazy to follow suit.
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Subsequently, rival fund management outfit Pinnacle Investment said it would pay $1.50 a share for shares in Hunter Hall, raising that to more than $2 a share if it gained control of more than half of the company's capital.
On Friday, with the two bidders eyeing Mr Hall's remaining 24 per cent shareholding in Hunter Hall, Soul Pattinson raised its offer to $1.60 a share, which prompted Pinnacle to up its price to $2 a share for all comers.
Hunter Hall has about $1 billion of funds under management, with the largest slice handled by a listed investment company, Hunter Hall Global Value, in which investment funds managed by well-known Sydney fund manager Geoff Wilson have accumulated an 11.5 per cent stake.
Mr Wilson wants to take board control of the fund and force a share buy-back, which has prompted Soul Pattinson to plunge close to $20 million on snaring a 6.9 per cent stake in a bid to ensure control of Hunter Hall's most valuable asset isn't lost.
"It is an unusual set of circumstances," Mr Wilson said on Friday. "It appears Souls and Pinnacle are positioning to buy Peter Hall's 24 per cent stake.
"As the largest shareholder in Hunter Hall Global Value, we would like the successful party in the bid for Hunter Hall to be prepared to do the right thing by investors in the listed fund and support those that want to leave at NTA [net tangible assets]."