ASX closes lower; Codan slumps after billionaire shareholder selldown
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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished lower as electronics, mining and radio components company Codan led losses after its biggest shareholder sold off about 23% of her holding.
The benchmark ASX 200 index fell 0.19% to 8,680.5, with seven of the 11 sectoral indices in positive territory.
Biggest movers:
- Codan (-9.4%) — Led losses on the ASX 200 after its largest individual shareholder Pamela Wall reportedly sold down $300 million in shares.
- Ventia Services Group (+5.8%) — Awarded new contracts by the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning worth a combined $340 million.
Deals:
- Regis Resources (-5.9%) — Agreed to merge with fellow gold miner Vault Minerals (+3.1%), creating a new $10.7 billion company set to produce over 700,000 ounces of gold per year.
- Wesfarmers (-0.6%) — Entered a 50:50 joint venture with construction company Built Group to establish a new construction and development business named Built Living.
- SGH (+0.8%) — CEO Ryan Stokes said that any attempt to increase the value of its ‘best and final’ acquisition offer for BlueScope (+1.0%) would be a “pretty direct violation” of the ‘truth in takeovers’ regulation.
- Dexus (-2.7%) — Entered a joint venture with SGH’s Boral to develop a 630-hectare plot of land held by the Stokes-owned industrial company into one of the largest institutionally held logistics precincts in Australasia. Also reiterated FY26 guidance.
Other news:
- Liontown (-1.2%) — CEO Tony Ottaviano told the Macquarie Australia conference the company is transitioning to a self-funded model after achieving its first cashflow positive quarter amid a recovery in lithium prices.
- NextDC (-0.6%) — Received credit approved commitment letters from a syndicate of banks for $1.8 billion in new senior debt facilities.
- ALS (0.2%) — Flagged a cybersecurity incident within its IT systems that caused temporary disruptions to parts of its operations.
- Nine Entertainment (-1.6%) — Reported a “strong revenue quarter” in Q3 but warned advertising markets are being impacted by a “confluence of uncertainty” in the fourth quarter.
What’s ahead:
- The Institute for Supply Management will release US non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index data for April at midnight.
- The US Bureau of Labor Statistics will release job openings and labour turnover survey data for March at midnight.
