With over 20% of shares held in short positions it begs the...

With over 20% of shares held in short positions it begs the question "who has lent those shares"

Looks like Altura AJM.ASX is heading for a takeover with the stake holder in question only owning 19% of the company.

With the investment banks cross pollinating their short positions in SYR it would hide the true identity of any bidder. 47% of the shares are held in just 3 nominee accounts (more in others).

HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) 23.18%

J P Morgan Nominees Australia--------12.26+
Citicorp Nominees ------------------------ 11.49
Sub total-------------------------------------23.70%

Total----------------------------------------------47%

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If the shares are lent they will do not appear on the original holding company register. If a potential bidder accumulated 4.9% and wants to buy more all they have to do is lend the shares out and they will avoid the "Becoming Substantial Holder" announcement even though they have accumulated over 5%.

To return the short positions it would just be an off market XT between the banks at the same price. Then the shares would be returned to the true owner at a much higher price then they were accumulated at. A win, win for all except retail.

Is this naked short selling? They are different accounts so I can't see it being naked.

Ready for the onslaught, bring it on. I would hate to see SYR sold off cheaply though