Gina Rinehart’s fancy-pants rebranding

Illustration: Peter Nicholson

Last year was a momentous one for billionaire Gina Rinehart as she realised the family’s more than 60-year-old dream — to mine and ship their own iron ore.

Rinehart put it in appropriately historic terms as she farewelled the good ship MV Anangel Explorer (loaded with tens of thousands tonnes of Roy Hill’s finest) from Port Hedland.

“To borrow and adapt from the great leader Winston Churchill, the light of history shall shine on all your hard hats,” she told workers gathered at the site.

And we can reveal her business empire is to gain a more appropriate name.

On the way out would seem Hancock Prospecting, the company name coined by her father Lang Hancock, a visionary miner with a worldview that would give that guy David Morrison a seizure.

In its place Rinehart (recently valued at $6.06 billion) has reserved the more grandiose name of “Hancock Corporation”. La-di-dah!

It comes as the company, which has previously made its billions from royalties and joint venture interests from Hancock’s mineral finds, for the first time mines and exports iron ore from the Roy Hill mine in WA.

No word yet on whether a new corporate logo will accompany the rebrand. We’re hoping for something that incorporates the boss’s love of beach volleyball.

And also no word on daughter Ginia’s imminent wedding at Hamilton Island resort Qualia to her bodyguard, who we have heard is a doppelganger for Kevin Costner.

Gonski dumps Narev in it

 

Chairman Ian Narev’s Sydney Theatre Company board meets next week to discuss life after Jonathan Church, the talented Englishman who as of last week is the outgoing artistic director of the prestigious theatre.

Church - who was previous STC chair David Gonski’s replacement for Andrew Upton and Cate Blanchett - lasted nine months. Church leaves with the STC’s 2017 season launch in September fast approaching.

Someone close to the board described it with the metaphor of the moment: “It’s a shit sandwich.”

Pity Narev, who has inherited this mess. Only since February has he presided over the illustrious STC board, which includes almost billionaire Gretel Packer, director Jonathan Biggins and Premier Mike’s Dad, Bruce Baird.

The thing fell apart because Church is something of an “artistic director of everything” — spread as he has been across Chichester Festival Theatre duties, his own London-based production company and, from time to time, the STC.

Little wonder he appealed to Gonski, the “chairman of everything”, who left his STC gig to run the board of rival Sydney arts institution, the Art Gallery of NSW, in addition to his chairmanships of listed giants Coca-Cola Amatil and ANZ.

It turns out Church wasn’t as prodigiously efficient as the man who signed off on his hire. We’re not sure why that’s a surprise to anyone.

Anyway, it’s Narev’s problem now. Good luck.

Sweetener for Patties

Like sauce on a Four’N Twenty pie, Tim Sims’ private equity firm Private Equity Partners is expected to dollop more value on Patties Foods in a formal scheme offer for the food company.

The sweetener could be squeezed as early as today and will likely be recommended by the Patties board.

Under the guidance of Citi’s Tony Osmond, PEP will likely stick with its $1.65-a-share offer, but boost value to investors by tapping into Patties’ substantial pool of franking credits.

That has tantalised the Mark Smith-chaired Patties board, which met last night. Two of Patties’ directors, Richard and Harry, are sons of the now deceased Patties founders Annie and Peter Rijs.

The directors and their four brothers collectively control 36.6 per cent of Patties, which is worth $85 million at the PEP offer price. They are expected to vote their stake together.

The Myer family has 9 per cent (worth $21 million), so the two families will play a leading hand in deciding the company’s fate. The scheme requires approval by 75 per cent of shares voted and of a majority of shareholders that vote.

With Greenhill’s Michelle Jablko out the door it’s been up to Bulldogs tragic (and Four’N Twenty aficionado) Roger Feletto to hold the Patties directors’ hands to get the best offer from PEP, whose reps tapped on the door about three months ago.

Also on the Pattie’s board is former Coles Myer CFO John Schmoll, a former chair of Breville where Solly Lew (a key client of Jablko’s) was a major shareholder.

Let’s party

The folk at Greenhill left behind by Michelle Jablko’s transition to listed life as the beancounter at ANZ will farewell their departing boss in a knees-up tonight in Sydney.

Jablko, who finishes at Greenhill at the end of the week, has kept a low profile over the past week as the Angus Aitken vs ANZ battle has dominated headlines.

She has been spied having the odd Collins Street coffee with banker counterparts and key clients, but little else.

But tonight she’s off to The Winery in Surry Hills. Jablko’s co-managing director Roger Feletto is even flying the Melbourne troops up to send her off to Shayne Elliott with a bang.

Greenberg’s colours

Down in Melbourne, flamboyant billionaires Pankaj and Radhika Oswal traded the Victorian Supreme Court for the Crown food court yesterday evening, hours after the tabling of explosive emails by former ANZ boss Mike Smith and his executives in their high stakes case against the bank.

But in Sydney — as in Brisbane — last night was all about the State of Origin.

Out at Sydney’s Homebush Stadium (sponsored by bank of the moment ANZ), Todd Greenberg lorded over the Legends Rooms for his first Origin game as NRL CEO.

Demonstrating his deep understanding of the delicacies of the game, Greenberg wore a half maroon, half blue scarf.

Turnbull Ministers Sussan Ley (for the Blues) and Peter Dutton (Maroons), mingled with businessman Tony Shepherd, Four’N Twenty fan Roger Feletto, state opposition leader Luke Foley and Baird minister Pru Goward.

Over in the president’s suite NRL chairman John Grant entertained PM Malcolm Turnbull and his rugby league mad Treasurer Scott Morrison and NSW Premier Mike Baird.

Pass the ketchup

It’s no surprise, really, but just to make sure the shit sandwich has been fairly passed around we’ll note that the decision to sack 60 Minutes producer Stephen Ricehad the backing of the Peter Costello-chaired Nine board.

That decision — based on a recommendation from chief executive Hugh Marks — was despite the contradictory findings of Nine’s internal review which said no-one involved in the Beirut child snatching saga should be sacked.

In further shit sandwich sharing, Nine was steadfast yesterday that the role in the review of general counsel Rachel Launders (a former partner at Gilbert + Tobin who joined Nine in January last year) was credible. That was even though the review uncovered that a Nine legal counsel was aware of the child snatching story — and associated kidnapping payments — but failed to refer the matter to management.

As Rice and lawyer John Laxton contemplate their next move over his sacking, Sydney’s legal fraternity remains agog at Nine’s handling of the affair. The decision to release the review before the matter had been resolved in Lebanon — and then against its recommendations by sacking Rice — has legal eagles scratching their horsehair wigs.

Trash & treasure

While discussion of Angus Aitken’s stoush with Paul Edwards at ANZ dominated chatter at the stockbroking conference at Melbourne’s Crown yesterday, behind the scenes Morgan’s head of equities John Clifford was making the best of the industry’s troubles.

Morgans, which has just added industry veterans Duncan Adam (ex Goldies and CBA) and Paul Welsh (ex MacBank and CBA) to its Sydney desk, is seeking to scoop up more bodies as the likes of Morgan Stanley slashes pay to its stable of advisers.

Clifford advertised for brokers in the weekend press to flush out talent as well and remind private clients that his brand is expanding. Proof that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

Cracking glass ceiling

How topical. Gender diversity has arrived at the highest level of the mining industry’s peak lobby group, the Minerals Council of Australia.

For the first time in its 40 year existence the MCA has a woman in the chair — Vanessa Guthrie, CEO of uranium hopeful Toro Energy.

Guthrie replaces MMG’s Andrew Michelmore,who has served three years in the position and is now busy building $US10 billion copper mines in Peru, all while chairing the International Council on Mining and Metals, the MCA’s global equivalent.