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By Echha Jain
(Reuters) - Shares of Australia's Challenger closed 11% lower on Thursday after a key shareholder more than halved its stake in the investment management firm.
The stock declined as much as 14.4% to A$5.995, posting its biggest intraday drop since August 2022 and hitting the lowest level since December 2023. It was one of the top losers on the benchmark ASX 200 index, which ended 0.4% higher.
Trading volume soared with nearly 47.3 million Challenger shares changing hands, compared with the 30-day average of about 1.4 million shares.
Challenger said U.S.-listed Apollo Global Management reduced its shareholding in the company to 9.9% from 20.1% to support "redeployment of capital to other growth opportunities".
Morningstar equity analyst Shaun Ler believes Apollo cut its stake because it found a more lucrative opportunity than annuities for Challenger, which is notably capital-intensive.
Considering Apollo's previous significant ownership, the reduced stake may allow the Challenger board and team more freedom to make independent decisions, Ler added.
Challenger and Apollo remain committed to pursuing a range of initiatives, including an asset origination and distribution partnership, Challenger said in its statement.
(Reporting by Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Subhranshu Sahu)
