Rio Tinto advances Turquoise Hill takeover, CSL to gain new boss and Telstra issues apology

Rio Tinto’s (ASX: RIO) share price fell at the start of the week, despite a positive update on its proposed takeover of Canadian miner Turquoise Hill Resources.

The mining giant announced it received the required support from Turquoise Hill shareholders for its proposed acquisition of the remaining 49% the Canadian miner’s issued and outstanding common shares that it does not currently own.

Rio Tinto’s acquisition of Turquoise Hill will increase its stake in the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project in Mongolia to 66%.

Rio Tinto’s Copper chief executive officer Bold Baatar said the news was a positive step forward towards completing the deal.

“We welcome the support from minority shareholders, which is a key milestone in our acquisition of Turquoise Hill. This transaction will deliver significant benefits for all shareholders, and allow us to progress the Oyu Tolgoi project in partnership with the Government of Mongolia with a simpler and more efficient governance and ownership structure,” he said.

Both parties remain hopeful for the acquisition to be completed in the coming days, subject to the final approval of the Supreme Court of Yukon, with a hearing scheduled for 14 December.

CSL

Biotechnology giant CSL (ASX: CSL) has announced that after a decade at the helm, managing director and chief executive officer Paul Perreault will hand over the reins to the company’s current chief operating officer Dr Paul McKenzie from March 2023.

During Mr Perreault’s tenure, the giant produced more than 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Melbourne.

After spending 10 years in the role, and more than 25 years with the company, CSL chair Dr Brian McNamee acknowledged Perreault for his successful time in charge.

“Thanks to Paul’s leadership, CSL today has grown to become a global leader, delivering shareholder value and industry-leading life-saving medicines to people in more than 100 countries,” he said.

Mr Perreault will also step down from the board, but will remain as a strategic advisor until officially retiring in September next year.

He said the company, led by Dr Paul McKenzie, is in strong hands moving forward.

“Leading CSL during the last decade has been a privilege as we grew, innovated, and globalised to new levels – all while fostering a values-based culture focused on our promise to patients and public health around the world,” he said.

“In working closely with Dr McKenzie for more than three years, I am confident he will continue to innovate and build on CSL’s track record of growth for years to come.”

Dr McKenzie joined CSL three years ago, boasting 30 years of leadership in the global biotech industry and has held various senior roles in R&D and manufacturing at Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck.

He said he remains focused on executing the company’s strategy and is humbled by the opportunity.

“I am excited, honoured and humbled for the opportunity to continue building CSL’s legacy following the strong foundation established by Paul Perreault over the last decade,” he said.

“We will continue focusing on executing our 2030 strategy, investing in innovation, and continue achieving sustainable and profitable growth.”

The Star Entertainment Group

Just days after The Star Entertainment Group (ASX: SGR) was handed down $100 million in fines, the gambling giant has confirmed 11 current and former directors, and past executives have been sued by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).

The commission begun the proceedings over concerns relating to alleged breaches of their duties, including “failing to give sufficient focus” to money laundering risks and criminal associations.

ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said focusing on these risks and associations are “inherent in the operation of a large casino with an international customer base”. ‘

In the firing line are members of Star’s leadership team from 2017 to 2019, including former chairperson John O’Neill and previous managing director and chief executive officer Matt Bekier.

Star’s current chair Ben Heap, current non-executive director Kathleen Lahey and former non-executive directors Richard Sheppard, Gerard Bradley, Sally Pitkin and Zlatko Todorcevski were also unable to escape the proceedings.

Closing out the list is former company secretary and group general counsel Paula Martin, previous chief casino officer Greg Hawkins, and former chief financial officer Harry Theodore.

The watchdog alleges there were breaches of directors’ duties under section 180 of the Corporations Act, which could result in a maximum penalty of $1,050,000 for each breach.

Telstra

Telstra (ASX: TLS) has apologised to more than 130,000 customers, who accidentally had their details published online by the giant, in Australia’s latest large-scale data breach.

Telstra’s 132,000 customers had requested their phone numbers not be made publicly available, but an internal error from the company meant the numbers were.

The mishandling of customer data comes following data breaches at Optus and health insurer Medibank (ASX: MPL), where hackers stole thousands of customers’ data.

Telstra said the release of the names, numbers and addresses was purely a mistake and not the result of any malicious cyber-attack.

Executive Michael Ackland issued an apology to customers over the mishap.

“For the customers impacted we understand this is an unacceptable breach of your trust. We’re sorry it occurred, and we know we have let you down,” he said.

“We are conducting an internal investigation to better understand how it happened and to protect against it happening again.”

Telstra pinned the fault on a “misalignment of databases” and was working to pull the data off the internet.

The telco giant has urged impacted customers are being contacted and offered free services to tackle the identity theft.

Westpac

Australian banking giant Westpac (ASX: WBC) has ended acquisition talks with Tyro Payments (ASX: TYR), despite not making a formal offer.

Early-stage negotiations started back in October, however at the time, the bank stated “there is no certainty that any transaction will result.”

Following due diligence, the banking giant confirmed “that submitting an offer is not in the best interests of Westpac shareholders at this time”.

Shares in Tyro, which is backed by billionaire investor Mike Cannon-Brookes, plunged around 18% after takeover talks ended with Westpac.

At the same time, Tyro’s board also said it was ceasing discussions over selling the business with private equity firm Potentia.

As well as Westpac showing interest in Tyro, Potentia had put forward a non-binding “indicative proposal” valuing it at $875 million.

Australia’s fifth-largest provider of eftpos services said a decision was ultimately taken to end all discussions regarding a sale for now.

Tyro said it remains open to “credible” proposals that provide value for Tyro shareholders.