Gina Rinehart has raised her stake in Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) to over 10%, a move that prevents Albemarle from proceeding with its $6.6 billion takeover offer through compulsory acquisition. Compulsory acquisition occurs when a bidder attains 90% of the target company's issued shares and can acquire the remaining shares forcibly.
Hancock Prospecting, owned by Rinehart, now holds a 10.69% stake in Liontown, up from the 7.72% disclosed on September 11. This increase comes weeks after Liontown's board accepted Albemarle's $3-per-share takeover offer.
A substantial shareholding notice released after 7 pm on Monday revealed that Hancock had invested more than $195 million in purchasing an additional 65.577 million Liontown shares from September 12 until Monday. Notably, over $134 million was spent on acquiring 44.09 million Liontown shares on Monday alone.
Hancock's current ownership stands at 235.494 million Liontown shares, valued at over $700 million. On Monday, Liontown shares closed at $3, a slight decline from $3.01 on Friday.
