Bank of Queensland gains new chief, Regis gets greenlight for McPhillamys and Liontown rebuffs Albemarle’s latest bid

Bank of Queensland (ASX: BOQ) announced this week its current executive chair will become the company’s chief executive officer and managing director until December 2024.

Patrick Allaway will step down as chair and become the new chief at the Queensland bank. His chair position will be taken up by Warwick Negus.

Bank of Queensland said Mr Allaway’s appointment will provide the company stability and continuity as it hunts for a longer-term chief.

Mr Allaway assumed an executive chair role in November last year following the sudden departure of then chief and managing director George Frazis.

Regis gets greenlight for McPhillamys

Major miner Regis Resources (ASX: RRL) is a step closer to developing its McPhillamys gold project after securing the final greenlight from NSW’s Independent Planning Commission.

Regis managing director pointed out McPhillamys is one of Australia’s largest undeveloped open-pit gold resources.

The project has an initial mine life exceeding 10 years and is estimated to generate about 200,000 ounces of gold per annum.

A feasibility study and funding plan are expected to be released for the project later in the year.

Liontown rebuffs Albemarle’s latest bid

Miner Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) has rejected lithium giant Albemarle’s third takeover attempt, which valued it at $5.5 billion, stating it “substantially undervalues” the company.

The latest offer priced Liontown at $2.50 a share and follows a bid of $2.35 per share earlier this month.

Albemarle first offer of $2.20 was rebuffed in October last year.

Liontown’s board labelled Albemarle’s attempts as “opportunistic – noting lithium demand is expected to grow five times by 2030 and the predicted supply deficit would keep lithium prices higher for longer.

Healthco, HMC Capital lob $1.2b offer for Medical Properties Trust

Healthco Healthcare & Wellness REIT (ASX: HCW) and a newly established unlisted fund HMC Capital have lobbed a $1.2 billion offer to acquire Medical Properties’ (NYSE: MPW) Healthscope portfolio, which owns 11 private hospitals across Australia.

Healthco will fund $730 million of the full $1.2 billion bid and launched a $320 million underwritten equity raising.

The company describes the acquisition as “transformational” and once complete, it will own 100% of four mental health/rehabilitation hospitals on Australia’s east coast valued at $256 million and a 50% stake in HMC Capital, which will possess seven acute care hospitals with a value of $944 million.

Healthco will wholly-own three hospitals in Victoria: Northpark in Bundoora, The Geelong Clinic in St Albans Park, and the Victorian Rehabilitation Centre in Glen Waverley.

The fourth hospital is Pine Rivers in Queensland.

Via its 50% interest in HMC Capital, Healthco will have a substantial holding in the seven other hospitals across Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland.

Once the deal has been completed, Healthco expects to be eligible for the S&P/ASX300 index, which will offer increased free float and liquidity.

Novonix and TAQAT target new markets with graphite anode partnership

Battery technology entity Novonix (ASX: NVX) has teamed up with leading Saudi energy organisation TAQAT Development Company to form a joint venture entity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to generate high-performance graphite anode for electric vehicle and energy storage sectors.

The duo is targeting the Middle East and North African markets for its products.

Under the partnership, Novonix’s battery technology and capabilities will be used to develop a graphite anode facility in Saudi Arabia that can produce up to 30,000tpa of material.

Novonix chief executive officer Chris Burns said the joint venture will leverage the company’s existing work in North America and allow it to more quickly scale its operations and expand into global markets.