Australian investors wiped $10.7 billion off the value of BHP’s local shares on Wednesday in the belief a plan to unify its corporate structure in Australia favoured British investors, as the spectre of activist investor Elliott Management re-emerged.

BHP must convince the owners of 75 per cent of its Australian stock to vote in favour of unification for it to proceed and some like Plato Investment Management’s Don Hamson said they were not certain to support the resolution, which is designed to make BHP simpler and more agile.