This was published 13 years ago
Rinehart takes $50m stake in Fairfax
By Julian Lee and Colin Kruger
THE drama continued at Fairfax Media yesterday with the mining billionaire Gina Rinehart revealed as the buyer of a $50 million stake in the company one day after the abrupt departure of its chief executive, Brian McCarthy.
Market sources confirmed Ms Rinehart was behind the acquisition, which follows closely on the heels of her raid on the Ten Network last month, netting her 10 per cent of the broadcaster.
Morgan Stanley, which conducted Ms Rinehart's raid on Ten, would not comment yesterday, nor would Ms Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting.
Fairfax's chairman, Roger Corbett, said: ''The company welcomes the interest, investment and show of confidence from all our shareholders.''
It is not known if Ms Rinehart is planning on increasing her stake in Fairfax, publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald. Her current stake represents 1.5 per cent of the company's stock.
More than 60 million Fairfax shares were traded on Monday after the departure of Mr McCarthy, who has been replaced on an interim basis by Greg Hywood.
Because broking codes have now been removed from trading systems, there is no confirmation of how many of those shares were traded by Morgan Stanley.
Under sharemarket listing rules, once Ms Rinehart's holdings reach 5 per cent she must declare ownership. It is then that questions will be asked in earnest as to what her intentions are towards the company, which has an open and fluid register.
The largest institutional investor in Fairfax is Colonial First State with 11 per cent. Former director John B. Fairfax's Marinya Media is the largest individual shareholder with 9.7 per cent.
In May Fairfax signed a deal with Ten to serve short clips of news footage to complement news reports by Fairfax journalists. But Ms Rinehart's second media acquisition in as many months may have more to do with gaining influence as she protects a mining empire worth around $5 billion. Her recent media investments are worth $220 million.
Ms Rinehart has continued to be a vocal critic of the mining tax, including its latest iteration, the mineral resource rent tax. In a recent article for a mining industry publication Ms Rinehart said: ''Changes are needed, and not only to bury the MRRT immediately and permanently.''