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Australian defence shipbuilder Austal has filed a notice of initial substantial holder with State Street Corporation and subsidiaries gaining 5.23 per cent voting power on 5 September.
State Street Corporation is a multinational financial services and bank holding company based in Boston in the United States.
Such substantial holder notices are generally filed when a person or entity acquires a 5 per cent or more ownership interest in the voting shares, which is then communicated to the public for awareness and transparency.
In other news last month, Austal and the Commonwealth of Australia completed a finalised strategic shipbuilding agreement (SSA) to create Austal Defence Shipbuilding Australia, appointed as Australia’s strategic shipbuilder for Tier 2 surface combatants at Henderson in Western Australia.
Under the SSA, Austal Defence Australia will become the prime contractor for the build and delivery for the LAND 8710 - Landing Craft Medium (expected to be 18 vessels) and Landing Craft - Heavy (expected to be eight vessels) programs previously announced as the pilot shipbuilding programs under the SSA.
In addition, in March this year, speculation briefly soared of an Austal takeover by South Korean defence giant Hanwha. At that time, Hanwha had acquired an additional 9.9 per cent shareholding in Austal. Hanwha had applied for an Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval to increase its shareholding in Austal to 19.9 per cent.
Hanwha global defence chief executive officer and president Michael Coulter said at the time that Hanwha believes in the long-term opportunity in partnering with Austal.
“As a strategic shareholder, there will be a great opportunity for us to add significant value to Austal’s business, including in global defence and shipbuilding, supporting investment in Australia’s local manufacturing industry and capacity,” Coulter said.
“Hanwha’s position as a global leader in smart shipbuilding will provide Austal access to capital, international relationships and operational and technical expertise which can accelerate the development of Austal’s business and in turn, enhance Australia’s sovereign defence capability, at a time when this capability is more important than ever.
“Hanwha’s global defence strategy prioritises growing local, sovereign presence through investment and partnerships, as exemplified by our investment in land capability in Geelong and elsewhere around the world. We believe strongly that we can replicate that success with Austal, investing in sovereign capabilities both in Australia and with its global operations.”
“Ultimately, we believe a Hanwha position on the board will allow for the future value of Austal to be maximised for all stakeholders by fully aligning interests.”
