By Adam Whittaker

Activist investor Palliser Capital doubled down on its call for a review of Rio Tinto's dual listing in London and Sydney, adding that it now has the backing of over 100 shareholders.

The U.K.-based hedge fund said Thursday it plans to move a resolution at the miner's next annual general meeting which would direct the board to conduct an independent review into whether unification of Rio Tinto's structure is in the best interests of its shareholders, and to share the review with the market.

In a letter to the board, Palliser said it doubts Rio Tinto's commitment to exploring listing unification with the importance it deserves after it failed to reply with substantive feedback to a previous letter--sent Dec. 4.--by the requested date.

Palliser said Rio Tinto's dual-listed structure has been an unmitigated failure for shareholders which requires urgent unification into a single Australian-domiciled holding company.

Rio Tinto said they were unable to provide a comment at the moment?

Calls for a unified listing increased after Australian peer BHP dropped its own primary listing in London in 2022 to unify its corporate structure in Australia. However, in July, Rio Tinto said it would retain its dual-listing in Sydney and London after concluding the move would destroy value for shareholders.

At the mining giant's capital markets day earlier this month, Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said the current structure remains the best for the company and that he doesn't believe consolidating its listing in Australia would make economic sense.

Palliser said it is unsustainable for Rio Tinto to continue operating with an inefficient structure that limits stock-based merger and acquisition activity while peers undertake consolidation.

Rio Tinto's AGM is scheduled to take place on April 3.

Write to Adam Whittaker at adam.whittaker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 19, 2024 06:17 ET (11:17 GMT)

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