Fortescue Ltd. shares tumbled after Capital Group Cos. sold a A$1.9 billion ($1.2 billion) stake in the iron ore miner, with the shares priced at an almost 9% discount to Monday’s close.
Capital Group sold down its holding via JPMorgan Chase & Co. bankers on Monday night, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the matter was private.
The shares in the block trade were priced at A$18.55 per share. The stock closed down 10.2% at A$18.28 in Sydney on Tuesday, the steepest drop in almost three years.
The selloff puts Fortescue — founded by billionaire and chairman Andrew Forrest — under the investor spotlight again, following its announcement earlier this month that it was scaling back plans to transform into a green hydrogen heavyweight. The company blamed high energy prices for the setback that prompted an overhaul of the group and 700 job cuts.
The block trade was offered on Monday at a variable price range of A$18.55 to A$19.10 per share, according to terms of the deal obtained by Bloomberg News. It represented about 100 million shares, or around 3.2% of securities on issue.
Prior to the sale, Capital Group held a stake of over 152 million shares, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The fund manager previously sold down some of its holdings in Fortescue in June. A spokesperson for Capital Group declined to comment on Tuesday.
Shares of the Perth-based miner have plunged about 37% so far this year.
(By Georgina McKay and Julia Fioretti)
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