Fortescue CEO Forrest May Boost Stake by A$294 Million, AFR Says

Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FMG) Chief Executive Officer Andrew Forrest may be seeking to buy A$294 million ($294 million) of shares in the iron-ore miner through Morgan Stanley, the Australian Financial Review reported, without saying where it got the information.

Morgan Stanley has contacted fund managers with a proposal to buy 60 million shares, or 1.9 percent of the issued stock, at A$4.90 apiece, the newspaper said in its Street Talk column. That’s a 4.9 percent premium over the 20-day average price.

Forrest, Australia’s third-richest man according to Forbes magazine, is already Fortescue’s biggest shareholder with a 31 percent stake, according to the company’s website. Yvonne Ball, a spokeswoman for Perth-based Fortescue, declined to comment on a possible share transaction or the identity of any buyer.

Fortescue fell 1.2 percent to close at A$4.85 in Sydney trading. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (AS51) declined 0.5 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Elisabeth Behrmann in Sydney at ebehrmann1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rebecca Keenan at rkeenan5@bloomberg.net