Western Australian mining magnate Twiggy Forrest’s Tattarang Pty Ltd has extended its exposure to the listed Australian Agricultural Co, growing its shareholding this week to almost 135 million shares, representing 22.38 percent of AA Co’s voting power.

Tattarang has emerged as a major stakeholder in AA Co since 2022, and at one point was being touted as a takeover prospect. The company is second only to majority shareholder Joe Lewis’s Tavistock Investments on the AA Co share register.

This week’s share parcel accounted for an extra six million shares valued at around $8.3 million.

Tattarang three years ago purchased Paul Holmes a Court’s Heytesbury Pty Ltd stake in AA Co, with Heytesbury’s 45.5 million shares (about 7.5pc of the stock) sold to Mr Forrest for $96.875 million, representing $2.13 a share.

Heytesbury had progressively bought AA Co shares in small parcels over the past four years, paying anywhere from a little over a dollar to closer to $2, as the stock has rose in value.

AA Co shares were trading earlier today in a range from $1.38 and $1.41.

“Tattarang is committed to investing in Australian businesses and brands that showcase the best of our country to the world and support local jobs. Our investment in Australian Agricultural Co is part of this commitment,” the company told Beef Central back in 2022, when its AA Co shareholding first started to rise.

“This is a long-term investment for the Tattarang Group,” a spokesman said.