Mr Philip Falcone's Harbinger Capital has sold another 30 million shares in Fortescue Metals Group, taking the total value of his share sell off in the iron ore miner to about USD 880 million.

Industry insiders suggested Mr Falcone sold the latest shares in a block trade through UBS at USD 5.01 per share reaping USD 150 million. It is believed that Mr Falcone is unsure about the continued strength of China and believes it could be a potential problem, given his heavy exposure to the economic powerhouse.

Harbinger, a long term US backer of Fortescue reduced its 16.2% holding in the miner by about 10% in February 2009 when it sold a chunk of its shares to China's Hunan Valin receiving about USD 600 million.

Mr Andrew Forrest chief of Fortescue said at the time that Mr Falcone had told him Harbinger would not sell any more Fortescue shares unless a takeover offer was recommended. The New York hedge fund then sold 30 million shares last month for about USD 130 million. At the same time, Leucadia Capital sold about 30 million Fortescue shares.

A Fortescue Metals Group spokesman said that the company did not comment on individual share transactions. But late last month, following the previous share sale, Mr Forrest reportedly said that the company engineered the sales to increase the miner's market value. He said that he thanked both Leucadia and Harbinger for selling down. They did it with full company knowledge and full company support.

(Sourced from www.theaustralian.com.au)