Divorce settlement propels female investor towards rich list

The small group of women on Australia’s rich list could be about to receive a boost, thanks to what appears to be one of the biggest divorce settlements in Australian history.

Edeltraud Franziska Grill is the first wife of John Grill, the chief executive and major shareholder of engineering giant WorleyParsons, who has a fortune of $971 million.

The pair divorced in February 2008, but WorleyParsons’ latest annual report shows Edeltraud Grill received eight million Worley shares in the divorce settlement, making here the sixth largest shareholder, with a stake currently worth a bit over $187 million.

SmartCompany can report that Edultraud Grill disposed of the eight million shares last week via a bookbuild. The divorce agreement had prevented her from selling more than 100,000 share a month while Grill was in charge, except via a bookbuild.

However, the cash from the share sale should still be enough to get Edultraud Grill on to the BRW Rich 200 list, which this year had a cut off of $185 million.

The 2010 list contained just 15 women, so Grill’s addition would be welcomed by female entrepreneurs.

ASX records show that in June, John Grill offloaded eight million “pursuant to orders made in the Family Court of Australia on May 31, 2010”.

Grill, who remarried earlier this year, has not indicated when he might step down from the CEO’s role, which he has held since 1971. According to Worley’s annual report, his contract is of an “unlimited duration”.

If Edeltraud Grill does make the BRW Rich 200, she will join a number of wealthy divorcees, including Nicole Kidman and Gerry Harvey’s former wife, Lynette Harvey.

Lynette Harvey received a large stake in Harvey Norman as part of her divorce from Gerry. She retains around 50 million shares over $160 million, and is listed on the Rich 200 with a fortune of $205 million.