Palliser steps up pressure on Rio Tinto to drop dual listing

Activist investor Palliser Capital is urging the chair of Rio Tinto (ASX, LON: RIO), the world’s second largest miner, to abandon its primary London listing and unify its corporate structure into a single Australian-domiciled company.The UK-based hedge fund enlisted Grant Thornton Australia to evaluate the potential benefits of unification, and the findings of this appraisal have been published alongside the hedge fund’s letter. Shareholders will vote on the resolution on April 3 for UK-listed shares and May 1 for Australian-listed shares.Rio’s current listing consists of approximately 371.2 million shares on the Australia Stock Exchange and 1.25 billion shares on the London Stock Exchange.Palliser, which holds about $300 million in Rio Tinto shares across both listings, has campaigned for nearly a year to consolidate the miner’s primary listing in Australia, arguing that the dual-listed structure has cost investors $50 billion in value. Rio Tinto has defended its existing setup. A review conducted by the company last year concluded that its dual-listed company (DLC) structure remains effective and continues to offer benefits to both the company and its shareholders. While Rio Tinto periodically reviews the arrangement, the board’s 2024 analysis reaffirmed its current position.London’s shrinking marketIf Rio Tinto follows the path of rival BHP (ASX: BHP), which unified its corporate structure in Sydney over three years ago, it would deal another blow to the FTSE 100—London’s benchmark index of the largest listed companies.The London Stock Exchange is already struggling with a decline in listings and an exodus of major corporations. Auditing giant EY reported that 88 companies delisted or transferred their primary listing from London’s main market last year, the highest number since 2009.Swiss miner and commodities trader Glencore (LON: GLEN) added to concerns in January by announcing it was considering shifting its primary listing to New York or another venue where it could achieve better valuation.Rio Tinto has operated under a dual listing since December 1995 and has resisted calls for change.Panguna mine legacyBeyond the corporate structure debate, Rio Tinto faces mounting pressure over the legacy of its former subsidiary Bougainville Copper Ltd. (ASX: BOC) and its operations at the Panguna mine in Papua New Guinea.The company revealed on Monday that the first meeting of a roundtable to address the findings of the Panguna Mine Legacy Impact Assessment (PMLIA) Report was held on March 6. Panguna mine. (Image courtesy of Bougainville Copper Limited | Facebook.)The roundtable was established following the November 2024 signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG), Bougainville Copper Limited, and Rio Tinto.Rio Tinto and BCL are facing civil action lawsuits over allegations of historical mismanagement of the Panguna copper mine, which local communities blame for widespread environmental and health issues. The mine is accused of poisoning the entire length of the Jaba River and affecting the well-being of up to 12,000 residents in the area.Panguna operated for nearly two decades before shutting down in 1989 amid violent protests over revenue distribution, which escalated into a decade-long civil war that claimed nearly 20,000 lives. Once the world’s largest open-pit copper-gold mine, Panguna played a crucial role in Rio Tinto’s rise in the mining industry and Papua New Guinea’s path to independence from Australia in 1975.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com