MinRes shares rally despite HESTA divestment
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More news: Mineral Resources was the best performer across the ASX 200 despite news that HESTA had completely divested from the company over governance concerns.
MinRes shares were up 6.36% to $22.40 by 12:35pm AEST but over the past 12 months have plummeted 70.7%.
HESTA divests from MinRes over governance concerns
The news: Superannuation fund HESTA has completely divested from Mineral Resources due to governance concerns.
The context: The decision to divest follows the “sudden resignations of three directors in April” who formed the ethics and governance committee that was established in November 2024, the super fund said.
HESTA placed MinRes on its watchlist in October 2024, saying it believed appropriate action was not being taken to address governance issues.
MinRes is facing a formal investigation from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission after managing director Chris Ellison admitted to involvement in an alleged tax evasion scheme.
The super fund said it could re-invest in the miner if it addressed governance concerns and had an effective mechanism to prevent similar issues and a timely and orderly succession of its managing director.
WiseTech, Woodside and Santos are also on HESTA’s watchlist.
What they said: HESTA chief executive Debby Blakey said: “Last year we outlined our concerns that the Managing Director’s succession timeframe did not reflect the seriousness of the issues, and the issues indicated a systemic failure of governance. We have since regularly engaged with senior leaders and directors at the business to encourage action we believe necessary to restore investor confidence.
“The departures of the directors on the ethics and governance committee last month in our view represented a significant step backwards in seeking to address the serious governance concerns. Given these departures and the forthcoming succession of the Chair, we don’t currently see a path to our concerns being addressed.
“We are focused on the delivery of strong long-term returns to our members, and believe selling our remaining holdings was in their best interests at this time.”
The source: HESTA media release
