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Large Liontown share trade fuels talk of rival bid, fingers point to Gina Rinehart

An unusual amount of share trading in Liontown on Thursday through Euroz Securities has the market talking about whether a rival buyer could be lurking.

Sources on Thursday were pointing to mining billionaire Gina Rinehart as the buyer of the shares, although this was not confirmed.

However, the shares were purchased through Euroz Securities, the broker that has been previously used by Ms Rinehart’s company Hancock Prospecting.

It comes just days after Liontown granted the world’s largest lithium producer Albemarle due diligence following a sweetened $6.6bn bid for the company.

The latest play was further evidence the land grab is on among the world’s largest lithium producers, as Albemarle’s South American rival SQM has also recently bid for the $1.2bn lithium producer Azure Minerals.

The understanding is that Ms Rinehart’s interests already hold a share in Liontown just below 5 per cent.

Shares in Liontown on Thursday were up 8.3 per cent to $3, with its market value at $6.1bn.

More to come.