---
title: "Pacific Current’s Own Managers Demand It Explain a Bid It Never Disclosed"
description: "Astarte Capital’s founder joins Roc Partners’ Michael Lukin in pressing the ASX-listed fund manager over a $12.56-a-share offer."
author: "rews desk"
published: 2026-10-05T03:16:23Z
modified: 2026-10-05T05:12:02Z
url: https://rews.cc/a/pacific-current-s-own-managers-demand-it-explain-a-bid-it-ne-39c541
language: en
tags: ["m-a", "asx", "pacific-current", "roc-partners", "river-capital", "business"]
publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)"
---

# Pacific Current’s Own Managers Demand It Explain a Bid It Never Disclosed

*Astarte Capital’s founder joins Roc Partners’ Michael Lukin in pressing the ASX-listed fund manager over a $12.56-a-share offer.*

By rews desk · October 5, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/pacific-current-s-own-managers-demand-it-explain-a-bid-it-ne-39c541

## In brief

- Astarte Capital’s founder called on Pacific Current Group’s board to answer for an undisclosed takeover bid
- Pacific Current disclosed River Capital’s August offer but stayed silent on Roc Partners’ $12.56-a-share bid
- The AFR reported the Justin Arter-led board may not have disclosed conflicts of interest tied to a bid
- Pacific Current rejected Roc’s approach in September as below its assessment of fair value

The founder of a second investment firm in Pacific Current Group’s stable went public on Monday with a demand that the fund manager’s board explain why it never told shareholders about a takeover bid from one of its own portfolio companies, pitched at $12.56 a share.

Pacific Current, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, invests in boutique fund managers. In August it told the market it had received a takeover offer from River Capital, its major shareholder. What the board did not disclose, the Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column revealed, was that a second bid had already been lodged by Roc Partners, the firm run by Michael Lukin that itself sits in Pacific Current’s portfolio.

The pressure has grown since revelations that the board, led by its chairman, Justin Arter, may not have disclosed conflicts of interest relating to a takeover bid, the newspaper reported on Monday.

The new salvo comes from the founder of Astarte Capital Partners, a London-based alternative investment manager in which [Pacific Current holds a minority stake](https://paccurrent.com/press-release-completion-of-investment-in-astarte-capital-partners/). The founder joins Roc’s own Mr. Lukin, who last month [accused the Pacific Current board](https://www.afr.com/street-talk/secret-suitor-roc-slams-pacific-current-group-s-silence-on-hidden-bid-20260906-p60uuc) of keeping shareholders in the dark about his offer while quietly giving a rival bidder a leg-up.

Pacific Current [rejected Roc’s approach](https://grafa.com/en/news/australia/pacific-current-group-rejects-roc-takeover-offer) in early September, calling it a non-binding, indicative proposal that fell below its assessment of fair value. The board has otherwise stayed quiet: the River Capital offer it chose to announce, and the $12.56 Roc bid it did not, both remain undisclosed in full to the investors caught between them.