Rinehart’s $US1b rare earths ride

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 19-Nov-25

Gina Rinehart’s corporate filings in the US show that the mining magnate has increased her investment in rare earths producer MP Materials from $US461.1m to $US996m, becoming its biggest shareholder. The US Department of Defense acquired a 15 per cent stake in MP Materials in mid-2025, as part of the Trump administration’s push to end Chinese dominance of the global rare earths market. The corporate filings also reveal that Rinehart has divested her stakes in Albemarle, Lithium Americas and Lithium Argentina, and reduced her stake in Chile-based SQM.

CORPORATES
MP MATERIALS CORPORATION, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF DEFENSE, ALBEMARLE CORPORATION, LITHIUM AMERICAS, LITHIUM ARGENTINA, SOCIEDAD QUIMICA Y MINERA SA

Rinehart raid shows Liontown’s quality

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 19 : 13-Sep-23

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has built up a 7.72 per cent strategic stake in lithium hopeful Liontown Resources. This includes the purchase of almost 60 million shares several days after Liontown’s board endorsed Albemarle’s sweetened takeover off on 4 September. Liontown chairman Tim Goyder says Hancock’s emergence on its share register demonstrates the quality of the Kathleen Valley lithium project in Western Australia. Meanwhile, Mineral Resources MD Chris Ellison has been appointed as the chairman of Delta Lithium; Mineral Resources has a 17.4 per cent stake in Delta.

CORPORATES
LIONTOWN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX LTR, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, ALBERMARLE CORPORATION, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, DELTA LITHIUM LIMITED – ASX DLI

Lew seizes 20pc of Myer as endgame nears

Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 15 : 2-Feb-22

Premier Investments has advised that it recently paid more than $15m for more than 33 million additional shares in department store group Myer Holdings. Premier now has a 19.88 per stake in Myer, which is just below the takeover threshold. Premier has spent some $132m to progressively lift its stake in Myer over the last five years. The latest share purchase may give Premier’s chairman Solomon Lew sufficient leverage to secure his long-sought representation on Myer’s board.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV

Lew increases stake, rips into disastrous Myer

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 16 : 7-Jul-21

Myer Holdings’ shares rose 15 per cent to $0.425 on 6 July, after revelations that businessman Solomon Lew has increased his stake prompted speculation of a takeover bid. Lew’s Premier Investments lifted its stake in Myer to 15.77 per cent on 5 July, and further share purchases on the following day is believed to have increased this to around 18 per cent. Lew says Myer’s performance has been disastrous for shareholders, employees, customers and suppliers. He has also criticised Myer’s board over its lack of progress regarding the appointment of a successor to former chairman Garry Hounsell.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV

ACM gets go-ahead to raise stake in Prime

Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 15 : 9-Apr-21

Australian Community Media has been cleared to increase its stake in Seven Network affiliate Prime Media Group to 19.99 per cent. The deal to buy a five per cent stake in Prime from WIN Corporation owner Bruce Gordon had to be cleared by the Australian Communications & Media Authority, as ACM would exceed the 15 per cent threshold that is deemed to be a controlling interest under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. ACM’s Anthony Catalano says the legislation needs to be updated, as the ‘voices test’ for regional areas does not include digital media. He adds that ACM will have to sell two newspapers in Victoria and New South Wales unless the legislation is changed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA PTY LTD, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

Forrest boosts his stake in Fortescue

Original article by Melissa Yeo
The Weekend Australian – Page: 24 : 29-Feb-20

Fortescue Metals Group has advised that chairman and founder Andrew Forrest bought more than 22 million shares in the pure-play iron ore miner between 20 and 27 February. Forrest paid some $242m to lift his stake in Fortescue from 30 per cent to about 36 per cent. Forrest will receive $828m in dividends for the first half of 2019-20 after Fortescue recently announced an interim dividend of $0.76 per share.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Equity boom helps ASX offset fall in IPOs

Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 8-Jan-20

The ASX’s latest activity report shows that a total of $66.3bn in capital was raised on the Australian sharemarket in 2019, compared with $98.9bn in 2018. The number of IPOs fell from 132 to just 94 in 2019, amid volatility in the global IPO market and the cancellation of several major floats on the domestic market. Meanwhile, total trades in the ASX’s cash market were 25 per cent higher in the second half of 2019 compared with the previous corresponding period, while the total on-market value traded for the half-year was nine per cent higher than previously.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX

Lowy calls time on retail empire

Original article by Ben Wilmot, Bridget Carter
The Australian – Page: 17 & 22 : 17-Oct-19

The Lowy family has sold more than 206 million shares in Scentre Group via a block trade. The $815m transaction comprised some 3.9 per cent of the real estate investment trust’s shares, and it marks the family’s exit from the owner of Westfield shopping centres in Australia and New Zealand. Steven Lowy, the son of Westfield’s co-founder Sir Frank Lowy, resigned from Scentre’s board in April. Peter Lowy also stepped down from the board of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield earlier in 2019.

CORPORATES
SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, UNIBAIL-RODAMCO-WESTFIELD – ASX URW

Exorbitant registry fees in ASIC’s sights

Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 21 : 15-Aug-19

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is believed to be launching an investigation into the exit fees charged by share registry providers Computershare and Boardroom. This follows a complaint by fellow provider Automic, which stated to the ACCC in December that competition in the share registry sector was being stifled by the ‘exit fees’ that Computershare and Boardroom were charging clients who wanted to shift their business. A Computershare spokesperson has stated that it does not engage in anti-competitive practice.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED – ASX CPU, BOARDROOM LIMITED, AUTOMIC

Packer’s sale of $1.76b stake in Crown Resorts puts spotlight on Barangaroo pledge

Original article by Nick Bonyhady, Nick Toscano
The Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 31-May-19

James Packer has sold half of his stake in Crown Resorts to Hong Kong-based Melco Resorts & Entertainment, a company with which Crown once operated a casino in Macau under a joint venture. The $1.76 billion deal was transacted via Packer’s private company Consolidated Press Holdings, and leaves Packer with around 25 per cent of Crown. However, there are suggestions that the share sale may breach the conditions of Crown’s operating licence in New South Wales; a condition of the agreement requires Crown to have no associations with Stanley Ho, the father of Melco owner Lawrence Ho.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, MELCO RESORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT