BHP Billiton chairman Jacques Nasser has spent more than £900,000 on shares in the mining giant.
The Lebanese-Australian took 20,000 American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) in the company, which amounts to 40,000 shares, and now has 45,600 ADRs. He paid $70.34 (4,523p) for each ADR.
Nasser is best known for his role at the US car maker Ford, where he served as chief executive from 1998 until 2001, having joined in 1968. He became chairman of BHP in March.
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News of his share purchase comes soon after BHP announced it is to increase its spending on its iron ore mine operation at Pilbara, Western Australia by $635m.
The investment comes a month after BHP and Rio Tinto abandoned plans to merge their Pilbara operations in the face of regulatory, customer and shareholder objections.
Rio Tinto, meanwhile has approved a further $1.2bn investment to lift annual iron ore production capacity in Pilbara to 283m tonnes a year.
BHP says that the failure of the Pilbara merger and also its failure to snare Potash Corp of Saskatchewan had not put it off large acquisitions.
BHP Billiton is estimated to have spent $875m on the $38.6bn Potash Corp bid, the failed iron ore joint venture with Rio Tinto and a previous attempt to takeover Rio Tinto.
Top Director Buys
BHP Billiton (BLT) Director name: Mr Jacques NasserAmount purchased: 40,000 @ 2,259.77p Value: £903,908
Punch Taverns (PUB) Director name: Mr Ian DysonAmount purchased: 100,000 @ 61.80p Value: £61,800
Witan Inv Trust (WTAN) Director name: Mr Andrew L C BellAmount purchased: 10,000 @ 476.00p Value: £47,600
SimiGon Ltd. (DI) (SIM) Director name: Mr Amos (Ami) VizerAmount purchased: 416,807 @ 5.12p Value: £21,341
Top Director Sells
Discovery Metals Ltd. (CDI) (DME) Director name: Mr Gordon GaltAmount sold: 191,789 @ 74.66p Value: £143,190
Sportingbet (SBT) Director name: Mr James WilkinsonAmount sold: 109,931 @ 58.20p Value: £63,980
SABMiller (SAB) Director name: Mr Nick FellAmount sold: 1,750 @ 2,086.10p Value: £36,507
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