Whitehaven asks Takeovers Panel to reveal Bell Rock stake

afr.com:

Whitehaven Coal has asked the Takeovers Panel to compel activist investor Bell Rock Capital Management to disclose the full size of its shareholding in the miner amid concerns the hedge fund has “misled” other investors about the size of the vote it will wield at Thursday’s annual shareholder meeting.

Whitehaven also asked the Takeovers Panel to disqualify Bell Rock’s votes from being counted at Thursday’s annual meeting over the matter, in an escalation of the tension between the two parties.

The Daunia coal mine in Queensland is one of the two mines put up for sale by BHP and its partner, Japan’s Mitsubishi. 

Bell Rock has lobbied Whitehaven to abandon plans to spend billions buying two BHP coking coal mines and instead return its $2.45 billion cash pile to shareholders. The pressure did not change Whitehaven’s course, with managing director Paul Flynn agreeing to pay up to $US4.1 billion ($6.4 billion) to acquire the Daunia and Blackwater mines last week.

Tensions over the acquisition have spilled over into a proxy battle over executive pay, with Bell Rock urging Whitehaven shareholders to vote against a remuneration structure that would reward Mr Flynn for achieving unstated strategic goals which are understood to include the acquisition of Daunia and Blackwater.

The vote on remuneration will occur on Thursday morning in Sydney.

Whitehaven made a spectacular, eleventh hour counter-attack on Bell Rock on Wednesday when it urged the Takeovers Panel to clarify exactly how many shares in the company were controlled by the London hedge fund.

Whitehaven pointed the Takeovers Panel to a letter Bell Rock sent to fellow shareholders on October 12, in which it claimed to be managing just under 5 per cent of Whitehaven shares.