FROM BEHIND THE PAYWALL
Is Woolworths planning to take over Australia's largest department store chain?
Is that why the wily Solomon Lew has upped his stake in Myer?
Free to read from Financial Mail's archives. First published in September 2017.
One late afternoon in March, an A$100m raid was carried out on the shares of Myer, one of Australia’s two high-end department store chains. Days later, retail tycoon Solomon Lew emerged as owner of 10.8% of the company through his listed vehicle Premier Investments. The Myer trade was executed by Pershing and Blue Ocean Equities, brokers used by Lew in an earlier share sweep. Financial high jinks is his thing. In the final throes of Woolworths’ R23.3bn buyout of David Jones (DJs) in 2014, Lew, Australia’s 15th-richest man, amassed a blocking stake in DJs. It served as a thinly veiled threat, forcing Woolworths to buy the remainder of clothing group Country Road at a fat premium. The gamble would go on to end his storied tenure as a minority shareholder in Country Road spanning nearly 17 years, the hallmark of which was outbursts so grating as to make activist investors Nelson Peltz and Carl Icahn look like kittens. Lew’s stake in Myer is being seen as leverage, which he is likely to...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.