2 key dates set for Hammer Austral scheme

Federal Court sets second scheme hearing

Hammer Metals Limited (ASX:HMX) has put a date on the next major procedural hurdle in Austral Resources Australia Ltd’s (ASX:AR1) proposed acquisition of all Hammer shares: the Federal Court of Australia will hear Hammer’s application for scheme approval at 10:15am AWST on 13 November 2026 in Perth.

The hearing concerns a court-approved scheme of arrangement under Part 5.1 of the Corporations Act. It is not an announcement that the scheme has been approved. The filing also does not disclose any revised consideration, implementation date or outcome from the shareholder votes that are still to come.

Shareholder and demerger votes come first

Hammer shareholders are due to consider the Austral scheme at a meeting on 9 November, alongside a separate demerger meeting for the company’s Western Australian gold assets. The shareholder meeting is scheduled for the later of 11:00am AWST and the conclusion of the demerger meeting.

The timetable follows the first court stage for the scheme, which cleared the way for the meetings after the scheme booklet was registered. An amended booklet later corrected calculations relating to performance rights and director-interest disclosures, while the proposed transaction itself remained unchanged.

Court hearing leaves transaction outcome unresolved

Any Hammer shareholder may appear at the second hearing, while a shareholder seeking to oppose approval must file and serve the required notice and supporting affidavit at least one day beforehand. Those are legal rights attached to the hearing, rather than evidence that opposition has been lodged.

The immediate sequence is therefore clear but incomplete: shareholder and demerger votes on 9 November, followed by the Federal Court application on 13 November. Hammer’s annual report had previously described the proposed Austral takeover and the linked gold demerger as central to the company’s path forward, while also flagging funding uncertainty if the transaction did not proceed.

The next material information will be whether shareholders approve the relevant resolutions and how the Court deals with the scheme application. Until those steps are resolved, the filing marks progress through the timetable rather than a completed change of control.