Change of tack from Elliott Management mob

Illustration: Rod Clement.

Since New York billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Management engaged Lynton Crosby and Mark Textor’sstrategy and research firm, the hedge fund’s tilt at BHP has become far more attuned to the local market.

No surprise there.

Elliott’s first public tilt in April was comically tone deaf to Australian political conditions.

The Hong Kong branch of the New York-based hedge fund announced a plan to, among other things, relocate BHP’s head office from Melbourne to London and collapse the ASX listing.

Barton Deakin’s Melbourne-based and Can­berra-connected adviser John Griffin had the unenviable task of relaying that dead-in-the-water idea to Treasurer Scott Morrison.

Weeks later ScoMo announced the inevitable.

“It is unthinkable that any Australian government could allow this original Big Australian to head offshore,” the Treasurer said in May.

It could have been over then. Instead, Elliott scuttled the offshoring scheme.

The firm also hired Crosby Textor, which — as the Turnbull government’s researchers — has an excellent read of ScoMo’s mind.

The firm also has a decent handle on the local mining industry. CT did the research that underpinned the campaign against Kevin Rudd’s mining tax. BHP picked up much of the bill for that $22 million campaign. How things change.

Elliott’s revised pitch, as presented on its “Fixingbhp” website, looks like a plan fit for the Treasurer. The new plan is to collapse the London listing and make the miner an even bigger Australian.

The attitude in the Treasurer’s offices is now said to be “positively benign”. It looks like this fight will be settled by the registry, not Canberra.

There remains an interesting political dynamic.

While the Coalition’s strat­egists Crosby Textor are in ­Elliott’s corner, helping the BHP defence is their star hire George Wright, the former Labor national secretary, who last year ran Bill Shorten’s ferocious election campaign.

It’s like July 2, 2016, all over again.

Fishy story

Keen observers of the Tyrrhenian Sea, off Italy’s western coast, noted a disturbance this week shortly after Myer boss Richard Umbers released his latest set of dismal numbers and announced the departure of his second-in-charge, Daniel Bracken.

But try as they might, local fishermen could not decipher the bellowing coming from the superyacht Maridome.

Was the boat’s owner, Myer’s billionaire shareholder Solomon Lew, swearing at Umbers’ stumble? After all, Lew owns 10.8 per cent of the shrinking Myer through his retail conglomerate Premier Investments.

Other local sardine gatherers swore they heard Lew cackling. The retail baron could have reason to as his mooted takeover plans for the department store become more affordable with each update of Umbers’ “New Myer” strategy.

The once grand Melbourne-based dame of retailing is now, with a market cap of $617m and falling, worth not much more than a quarter Lew’s Premier.

It’s making life interesting for investors back in Australia who are trying to work out what the enigmatic Lew will do next. Has Myer, now trading a little over 70c, become attractive as an M&A play?

“He’s definitely got a plan,” says one fund manager. “Solly’s not a person I’d bet against.”

All should become clearer in September, when Lew and his trusted CEO Mark McInnes announce Premier’s results.

The wily billionaire has a reputation for being candid about his investment strategies at those events. Although it’s possible he launches an earlier missive from his yacht on the “New Myer” strategy.

To channel Umbers’ experiential ambassador Katy Perry, we might all be about to hear Solly roar.

He’s back

Tony Abbott has returned from his holiday in Croatia full of energy.

Today the Member for Warringah has a star role at day one of the NSW Liberals’ two-day Party Futures Convention (the factional fight over candidate preselection) at Rosehill racecourse in Sydney.

Yesterday the former prop was the star guest, introduced to the theme song from Rocky, at Angus Stuart’s Sydney Uni Football Club Finals Lunch at the Westin.

Abbott was joined on stage by Australian Rugby Union chairman Cameron Clyne and AOC survivor John Coates.

As the only member of the panel who actually got along with rugby coach-turned-broadcaster Alan Jones, would Abbott, asked moderator Stephanie Brantz, reveal how?

Abbott was happy to share his secret words: “Yes, Alan.”

The former PM was charmingly self-deprecating. What did he learn from his time as a front rower at Sydney Uni? Perseverance. “I was a trier not a star. I often got dropped,” Abbott answered. “Very relevant right now.”

A morning of cycling and coffee with the former PM was one of the auction prizes. Before it got under way, Abbott was asked who were his three dream coffee dates?

“Any three Liberal members of parliament who would have coffee with me right now would be fine,” Abbott said.

As a wise man once said of another former PM, give that man a hug.

Fresh as a daisy

Further south, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop powered on to the stage at the Melbourne Institute/The Australian Economic and Social Outlook Conference at the Grand Hyatt. It was an 8.30am session and she was fresh off a flight from Sri Lanka and India.

Bishop gave a great speech on the way Donald Trump is reshaping Indo-Pacific power balances and then sat down for the Q&A. But she had to leave the stage twice during the session, and returned looking less than thrilled.

Probably not Narendra Modi on the blower this time, more likely Malcolm Turnbull or someone bothering her about tedious Liberal Party warfare.

At least British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is visiting Australia next week, which should cheer things up.