Tony Bannon

Institutional asset manager IFM Investor was ready to sweep up Dexus' shares in Melbourne Airport operator APAC under a forced sale process triggered by a default notice for alleged confidentiality breaches, a court heard Tuesday.

The chair of airport operator APAC has admitted redacting advice from Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer to remove a suggested remedy for major shareholder Dexus' alleged breach of confidentiality, but denies she misled the board.

A top in-house lawyer at Dexus has told a court the real estate asset manager was using an altered form of a non-disclosure agreement with bidders of a portion of its APAC bloc of shares without the approval of the airport operator's co-owners.

The court battle between APAC and major shareholder Dexus over the sale of an investor's stake in the airport operator went to a hearing this week, but it's the solicitors representing the warring parties that found themselves on trial.

A senior in-house lawyer at Dexus has rejected suggestions she was “careless” in her role in the sale of shares in Melbourne Airport operator APAC, saying she relied on a subordinate lawyer and others within the business. 

Lawyers assured two Dexus executives that it was OK to share the confidential information of Melbourne Airport operator APAC with proposed purchasers of the real estate asset manager's stake in the company, a court has heard.

A hearing set for this week on relief sought by Fortnite maker Epic Games in its competition case against Google will not go ahead as planned, after the companies reached a global settlement. But the terms of the deal remain to be approved by the ACCC.

The High Court has agreed to hear Otsuka's appeal of a decision that revoked its Abilify patent extension, which Otsuka argued would “lead to a groundswell of court proceedings”.

A judge has thrown out a class action led by the father of famed mining investor Nathan Tinkler over claims ASX-listed Whitehaven Coal failed to fulfil an implied term of a $150 million share subscription. 

A hearing on the relief Fortnite maker Epic Games is entitled to in its successful competition case against Google and Apple could be affected by a hearing on a worldwide settlement reached by Google, a judge has said.