Solly Lew ups stake in Myer Holdings

Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson and Kanika Sood

Jan 28, 2022 – 11.36am

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A parcel of 31.7 million Myer Holdings shares changed hands this morning, with fingers pointing to Solomon Lew as the buyer.

Street Talk. iStock

The $14.3 million block represented 3.9 per cent of Myer’s total shares on issue.

The trade was done at 45¢ per share, with Shaws and Partners understood to be the broker.

The stock closed at 38¢ Thursday and was trading at 42¢ at 11:17am today. It went through Chi-X.

The buyer was understood to be billionaire retailer Solomon Lew creeping towards a 20 per cent position, after an unsuccessful attempt to spill Myer’s board last year.

Lew’s Premier Investments is Myer’s largest shareholder and owned 15.77 per cent of Myer Holdings at July, 2021, the last substantial shareholding notice filed with the ASX. Today’s purchase, if from Lew, would push that holding to 19.67 per cent.

Soon after Lew crept up Myer’s register last July, Myer hired Ron Malek’s Luminis Partners and law firm Clayton Utz to help with defence. Premier chased it up with a statement saying it had “no current intention” of lobbing a takeover bid.