Stake

QR National (ASX:QRN) stock has changed hands yesterday with a combination of a stock placement and a stock buyback from the Queensland Government's stake in the company.

• $1.5 billion in QRN stock was sold.
• $1 billion was bought back by QR National, $500 million was placed with a few large investors. 144 million shares were crossed on the stockmarket at $3.47 per share.

Shandong Group, China's third largest gold producer plans to take a majority stake in junior gold miner, Focus Minerals (ASX:FML). Focus Minerals had taken over Crescent Gold last year. Shandong is offering $227.5 million at 5 cents per share to take a 51 percent stake in Focus Minerals.

• The price will be at a 13.6 percent premium to its closing price on Wednesday – which was 4.4 cents per share.

Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) is closing in on the Ivanhoe Mines by paying $502 million to boost its stake from 42 percent to 46.5 percent. Vancouver-based Ivanhoe said that Rio is going to exercise all its remaining share purchase warrants to buy more than 55 million shares in the company.

After Nufarm Limited (ASX:NUF) chief Doug Rathbone sold 4.5 million shares to Japanese firm Sumitomo Chemicals, Sumitomo said that it plans to further increase the stake by adding 1.3 percent to the 21.7 percent already acquired. According to the Sumitomo statement, the purchase of additional shares is planned in the next six months.

Contracting company Leighton Holdings (ASX:LEI) has settled the sale of a 35 percent stake to India's Welspun Group for an undisclosed sum.

David Stewart, Leighton chief executive, said it was pleasing to complete the transaction. "We will build a strategic partnership with Welspun that can capitalise on the enormous opportunities that are emerging in the Indian infrastructure sector," he said.

Andrew Forrest, the chief executive of the Perth based mining company Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) has announced on Monday that New York based billionaire Phil Falcone has offloaded as much as $400 million worth of Fortescue shares during May and June. Mr. Forrest reveled that the hedge fund of Mr. Falcone (Harbinger Capital) has sold more than 100 million shares if the miner although previously ensured that it would stay on the register.

Trinity Group (TCQ), the Australia based company that concentrates on the investment, fund management and property development business in the real estate sector has declared that it will sell as much as 50 percent of its stake of the wholesale fund management business as the company is currently working on reorganizing its management and reducing debts.