Securities

A judge says his experience working alongside the law firm pursuing an investor class action against Origin Energy prior to his appointment to the bench does not disqualify him from hearing the case.

Origin Energy has been hit with a class action alleging it breached its continuous disclosure obligations and misled the market in its earnings guidance for the 2022 and 2023 financial years.

In tossing the sixth securities class action to go to trial in recent years, a Federal Court judge has shown the task of proving shareholder loss is a doozy.

BHP has asked for more time to grapple with a shareholder class action’s amended pleading, saying the changes, if allowed, threaten to derail the trial start date in September.

A judge is concerned that if he approves all payouts sought by lawyers and funders from a $13.5 million settlement in a class action against a Quintis director, group members will only he left with just 18 per cent. 

Although finding the former director of Quintis and its auditor, EY, engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct, a judge has dimissed a class action by the sandalwood producer's shareholders.

ASX-listed Stockland has secured two new logistics deals with global investment firm KKR and property investor M&G Real Estate worth a total of $800 million. 

Nine-owned Australian property marketplace Domain is weighing up a $2.7 billion cash takeover offer from US-based CoStar Group, which snapped up a 16.9 per cent share in the company on Thursday.

Payments processing company EML has won more time to respond to a new pleading in a shareholder class action over its alleged failure to disclose Ireland central bank’s concerns with its anti-money laundering compliance.

Property developer Goodman Group is seeking to raise $4.4 billion to fund its investments in data centres, as demand increases from the expanded use of cloud computing and artificial intelligence.