By Ian Neubauer
Hedley Leisure and Gaming Property Fund (HLG) has been suspended from the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) after becoming embroiled in the collapse of Melbourne-based broker Opes Prime.
HLG requested it be suspended from trading after it failed to uncover the circumstances surrounding the special crossing of 10.8 million of its shares on Friday.
A special crossing is a trade where the buying and selling brokers are the same. Special crossings are tightly regulated by the ASX to protect investors and the marketplace.
Opus Prime was made the subject of an Australian Securities and Investment Commission investigation last week after stock-movement irregularities were detected on a number of the broker’s accounts.
It has been alleged that Opes Prime used other people’s money to profit in the stock market and helped its clients skirt around ASX rules. A series of unexplained spikes and downturns in HLG could be attributed to these alleged actions.
HLG has suffered a barrage of negative speculation since early March, when its shares shed 44 per cent of their value in two days of trading. Ongoing devaluations led the company to belatedly make public the fact that it was fielding approaches from interested buyers.
HLG shares were listed at $3.50 when the company debuted on the ASX in October last year. HLG shares were listed for 79 cents prior to suspension.