Premier Investments chairman Solomon Lew has snapped up a further 51,700,000 more shares in department store Myer, with his stake now representing 29.72 per cent.
The lift of 51 million shares is estimated to be valued at around $22.7 million, when multiplied by Myer’s current share price of $0.44.
“The Lew Group remains a supportive, long term shareholder in Myer and today is pleased to confirm a 2.95 per cent increase in the Lew Group’s shareholding in Myer, representing 29.72 per cent of shares on issue,” Lew shared in a statement.
The Lew Group, housed under Century Plaza Investments Pty Ltd, has a total shareholding in Myer of 514,380,403 shares.
Lew’s recent buy-in comes as Myer shares hit a three-year-low. The department store’s share price hit a recent peak of $1.26 around Christmas 2024 and has since fallen to its new low.
The surge in the share price came amid a merger deal between Premier Investments and Myer, with Myer taking on Premier’s Apparel Brands – Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Jacqui E, Dotti and Portmans – in exchange for 890.5 million shares in Myer that have since been distributed equitably to Premier shareholders. Premier also handed over $82 million in cash to sweeten the deal.
Lew is also set to join the board of Myer as a non-executive director as part of the transaction, adding to his current role as Premier Investments chairman.
Myer is currently being led by executive chair Olivia Wirth, the former CEO of Qantas Loyalty. She stepped into the role ahead of former Myer CEO John King’s retirement in early 2024, and has since assumed the responsibility of CEO.
For FY25, Myer reported resilient sales, but not enough to offset a profitability drag brought on by a subdued consumer environment and a $213 million impairment charge against its Apparel Brands acquisition.
A trading update by the company in late September confirmed Myer’s total sales were up 0.5 per cent to $3.67 billion for FY25 on a pro forma basis, and up 1.7 per cent in the second half.
The second half is the first period that includes revenue from the five retailers under Apparel Brands. The $213 million impairment is a non-cash impairment on goodwill relating to the Apparel Brands, reflecting the major shift in its share price during the merging process with Premier.