In a statement released today by Qantas, the level of foreign shareholding in the company is believed to have fallen below the regulatory requirement of 49% per cent.
It says that due to the recent takeover bid by Airline Partners Australia, Qantas has experienced a massive turnover of shares and as a result, reconciliation of its shareholding has been extremely difficult, despite extensive monitoring efforts.
“A reconciliation was commenced on 4 May and we were advised yesterday by Link Market Services, our share registry, that the foreign shareholding at that date was just below 50%,” said Geoff Dixon, the CEO of Qantas Airways.
However, some 55% of Qantas shares have been traded since 4 May, this meaning that the results released by Link Market Services may already be out of date.
According to market intelligence, selling transactions from 4 May onwards have been by investors associated with foreign hedge funds and substantial buying has been undertaken by Australian interests.
“Although turnover in Qantas shares remains high, and we have commenced another reconciliation, we believe our current register is in compliance with the Qantas Sale Act,” said Mr. Dixon.
Mr. Dixon added that Qantas was working with lawyers and other advisers to investigate alternative methods of monitoring foreign shareholding in order to fulfil the requirements of the Qantas Sale Act.
“The system we have used since the privatisation of Qantas has served us exceedingly well, however, this system does come under pressure if market participants do not comply with their obligations regarding timely disclosure of relevant interests, which has been the experience since the APA bid was announced.”
Report by The Mole
