Good evening,

Phil King’s Regal Partners, one of the market’s most influential funds management houses, is weighing up a bid for Platinum Asset Management, the legendary contrarian investor founded three decades ago by billionaire stockpicker Kerr Neilson.

Regal, which has made a string of acquisitions in the past year and now manages $16.5 billion, is working with Barrenjoey Capital Partners as it sizes up Platinum, one of the country’s oldest global equities players. Platinum has had a difficult decade, with investors pulling funds and returns falling. Yet, it still manages $12.2 billion.

While there’s no certainty Regal will make a formal offer, or that a deal will take place, sources said the proposal is in an advanced state and would be in the form of shares.

Regal declined to comment, while Platinum did not respond to questions.

Read the full story tomorrow and more on the Street Talk page.

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The knives are out at Tabcorp, where the wagering group’s institutional investors are deeply unhappy with the company’s performance. And who can blame them, with shares down almost 50 per cent since the start of the year.

The Australian sharemarket climbed to a record high on Monday, tracking a Wall Street rally and sending banks and gold stocks higher.

Click here for the latest equity market wrap.