Twiggy talks the good game, but technical details are thin on the ground

Ryan Stokes will not be attending the Boao Forum.

Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest indulged in a week of bombast with journalists and fellow billionaire Kerry Stokes, with whom he’s now apparently at war.

That was news to Kerry’s son Ryan. As Margin Call reported, he’d not long been invited to join Twiggy’s delegation to China for the annual Boao Forum, or the Asian Davos as it’s known, when Forrest launched attacks on The West Australian newspaper, the parent company of which is chaired by his father. And no, Ryan’s not attending Boao; scheduling conflict, as such.

When he’s not skirmishing with journalists or cooking up a feud with the Stokes family, Forrest does enjoy playing coquettish games with the many reporters assigned to cover resources and energy in this country.

No more so than last week when Forrest and one of his CEOs, Mark Hutchinson, casually dropped news of a “major breakthrough” in the production of green iron – steel made without carbon emissions – during an open briefing with analysts.

There wasn’t a skerrick of information concerning the actual breakthrough, of course. There’s often no room for details when Forrest is talking visions and prophecies.

Recall that in 2021 he boasted to an ABC Boyer lecture of the green steel pilot plant he was intending to mobilise by the end of that year, and of his commercial production plans in the Pilbara, powered by wind and solar, to take effect in the immediate years following.

Kerry Stokes chairs the parent company of the West Australian newspaper.

Well, here we are. No plant to speak of outside of a kit in a laboratory, and no commercial-scale production of green iron, yet. But at least there’s been a “breakthrough”.

Asked sincerely for a morsel of proof, Forrest told his interlocutor: “Look, that I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”

Once everyone had stopped wheezing from all the laughter at this extremely witty response, Forrest relented with a breadcrumb. “To give a clue to all our competitors out there, it uses a membrane and they’re going to have to come and talk to us if they want to borrow the membrane.”

This did sound rather … intriguing. But dig beneath the surface and it seems those competitors needn’t bother asking for permission to use the membrane at all; it’s basically available for purchase off the shelf, another garden-variety membrane.

Margin Call has seen the company’s patent, developed by former chief scientist Bart Kolodziejczyk – one of Fortescue’s many departed executives – and its description plainly lists the production of green steel but not the equipment used in the process – that is, the so-called membrane of such extraordinary significance, which can be purchased from Forrest’s upline supplier, Belgian-German multinational Agfa-Gevaert.

“The membrane family distributed under the Agfa and ZIRFON trademarks have been identified as one potential membrane candidate. The list of possible membranes is not limited to those distributed under the Agfa trademark,” it says.

At best, it looks like Forrest was trying to throw dust in the eyes of his competitors. At worst, the master showman just did what he often does.

Big bash

Thursday night’s bash honouring 20 years of Paradice Investment Management attracted almost every business hall of famer in the country, some of whom were flown out for the occasion.

Early arrivals at the Museum of Contemporary Art, in Sydney’s Circular Quay, included Gretel Packer, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull with wife Lucy, and former Wallabies captain turned broker Simon Poidevin.

Margin Call reported on Wednesday that David Paradice was covering the $300 ticket price for the 300-odd guests in attendance, a significant sidestep from the renowned thrift for which he’s known to many in the trade.

He was one of many having great fun during the occasion but also unbuttoning themselves were billionaires Alex Waislitz, Jack Cowin and Johnny Kahlbetzer, along with a who’s who of banking and funds managers, including Morgan Stanley CEO Richard Wagner, Caledonia chairman Mark Nelson and Geoff Wilson of Wilson Asset Management, Airlie founder John Sevior, Barrenjoey’s executive chairman Matthew Grounds and Anton Tagliaferro of IML.

By all accounts an enjoyable evening, but the live entertainment is said to have been a bit wobbly at times. Apparently the band was good, but Paradice, donning an afro for some reason, took to the stage and joined on vocals. The verdict of his performance? Don’t quit your day job.

Poolside

Much jostling of late for E&P Financial’s four private equity funds, with Pengana’s Russel Pillemer basically falling over himself to acquire them. Multiple offers and still no dice. Margin Call’s only question is where on earth is Clark Perkins, of buyout firm Mercury Capital?

Of all the people amply qualified to broker a way through this mess, it’s Perkins who’s conspicuously nowhere on the deal.

Firstly, the guy owns 22 per cent of E&P after buying a chunk of shares from 360 Capital’s Tony Pitt some years back. That was after Pitt couldn’t get on the board of E&P and seemingly chucked his toys. Definitely not one of Perkins’ better deals, unfortunately, given the rolling fiascos that were engulfing E&P at the time.

One imagines a few regrets on his behalf. Floated just north of $2.50, Perkins bought the shares when they slumped to around 60c. They’re now trading in the 40s.

Pengana chief executive Russel Pillemer. Picture: Jane Dempster

The genesis of this downfall can be traced to E&P’s merger with self-managed super outfit Dixon Advisory and, later, severe troubles that emerged with its high-fee US Masters Residential Fund. It, too, once traded above $2; on Friday it closed in the tens of cents.

All of which makes E&P’s listed Cordish Dixon private equity funds an obvious target for Pillemer, a shark in the shallows, who clearly brings the might to this battle of managers.

After all, the funds are in relatively good nick with decent underlying performance; they just trade at a chronic discount because of the reputational damage inflicted on E&P’s brand.

Hence Perkins, a real-world private equiteer (unlike Pillemer or the mob at E&P). He’s elbow deep in E&P and barely lifting a finger for control of his own turf.

The little we do know is that he’s been busy finishing off substantial home renovations on his 10-bathroom mansion, Loch Maree, located deep in the comfort of Vaucluse, and purchased from hotel magnate Jerry Schwartz for $30m. Is he watching all this from the pool deck? Might be time to lace up the boots.