Myer investors are hanging out for Premier Investment’s March 26 results briefing when Solomon Lew’s $4.9bn company may offer more clues as to whether their hopes of a back door listing of at least parts of Premier into the department store come to fruition.
Raising their anticipation on Thursday was the appointment of Olivia Wirth as the executive chair at Myer, of which Premier Investments owns 28 per cent.
Sources who know the former Qantas executive well say she won’t have joined Myer to sit still, and say it’s the strongest signal yet that something even bigger is afoot.
Premier Investments has been carrying out a strategic review of the business, and some question whether this results in a back door listing into Myer, if not of all of its business, then at least some of its apparel brands like Dotti and Jacqui E.
A move could result in consolidation of distribution and corporate functions, and cut down on retail rent.
The cost savings could be significant.
The empire includes brands like Peter Alexander, Smiggle, Just Jeans, Jacqui.E, Dotti and Portmans.
It has always been thought that Mr Lew has had aspirations to own Myer, but likely not by paying up.
The announcement of Ms Wirth’s appointment saw Myer shares rally almost 7 per cent, taking its market value to $700m.
Origin, Goodman ponder demergers, spin-offs
Two listed powerhouses, Origin Energy and Goodman Group, could both have their sights on major demergers or spin-offs of units in the coming years.
BlueScope management could be Whyalla first step
A move by BlueScope to manage the Whyalla steelworks on behalf of the government could be stage one of a long-term plan to find a solution for the troublesome operation, sources say.