Holmes a Court Ends Quest

Investor Robert Holmes a Court has agreed to sell most of his holdings in Broken Hill Proprietary Co., Australia’s largest company, for the equivalent of $1.49 billion, Broken Hill said Thursday.

The purchase, which would reduce Holmes a Court’s stake in the oil, steel and mining concern to 10% from 29%, was the latest in a series of divestments that Australia’s richest man has made among his international holdings since the October stock market crash.

It also apparently ended the lengthy takeover threat Holmes a Court posed to Broken Hill.

Broken Hill said it paid 2.1 billion Australian dollars, about $1.49 billion at current exchange rates, for Holmes a Court’s stock as part of a $1.9-billion restructuring of the company. The plan is subject to shareholder approval at a Feb. 25 meeting.

Securities analysts said they were taken by surprise by the Broken Hill announcement and said it appeared to end Holmes a Court’s almost decade-long bid to control the steel and mining giant.