Australian top court dismisses ANZ’s appeal against share placement case

(Reuters) – Australia’s corporate regulator said on Wednesday the federal court dismissed an appeal by ANZ Group against a lawsuit that found the lender guilty of not revealing about a share placement worth A$2.5 billion ($1.73 billion).

While dismissing the appeal, the court upheld the original decision in a case lodged by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, which imposed a penalty of A$900,000 for breaching disclosure laws.

In October 2023, the banking major had lost a lawsuit for failing to notify the market that between A$754 million and A$791 million of the shares were acquired by its underwriters instead of being placed with investors.

ANZ acknowledged the federal court’s decision in a statement and said it would review the judgement.

($1 = 1.4480 Australian dollars)