Bellmay’s Australia Limited (BAL):
Lawyer Rodd Peters, a representative of Jan Cameron’s Black Prince Private Foundation, has been appointed chairman of Bellamy’s Australia, a day after most of its board was tossed out and its chairman resigned. The organic baby formula maker said in a statement it will appoint additional directors in due course. Right now it has a three-member board after Ms Cameron missed out on a board seat at Tuesday’s meeting. Mr Peters and Ms Cameron’s ally Chan Wei-Chan were voted in, while incumbent director Patria Mann retained her seat.
CIMIC Group Limited (CIM) & Macmahon Holdings Limited (MAH):
CIMIC has hit back at its takeover target Macmahon Holdings, accusing the mining contractor of announcing a ‘‘rushed’’ proposal that will force shareholders to be diluted and face greater risk. Macmahon announced on Wednesday it had struck a deal with PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara (AMNT) that would deliver the Indonesian company between 40 and 50 per cent of an enlarged Macmahon, potentially foiling CIMIC’s attempt to take over the Perth-based contractor. CIMIC, which lobbed a 14.5¢ per share hostile bid for Macmahon in January, fired back on Wednesday, arguing the deal with AMNT was ‘‘uncertain’’ and ‘‘dilutive’’.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
Commonwealth Bank of Australia has no plans to publicly release two further independent reviews the bank commissioned into its life insurance business CommInsure, despite law firm Maurice Blackburn insisting it should do so. On Tuesday, CBA released a report by Deloitte that cleared the bank of ‘‘systemic’’ problems in the way CommInsure handled claims. But Annabel Spring, group executive wealth management at CBA, said two other reviews by law firm DLA Piper and Ernst & Young would not be released as they ‘‘are confidential and privileged’’. CBA commissioned the reports in response to accusations raised by Fairfax Media and ABC TV’s Four Corners regarding claims handling, delaying of payouts, bullying of medical practitioners to deny claims, record keeping and governance.
Crown Resorts Limited (CWN):
Chinese private equity group Shanghai United Real Estate Investment has signed a ‘‘strategic agreement’’ with Sydney developer Crown Group to build apartments. The deal was signed in Shanghai this week and any future joint development deals will be equally funded by each party. Shanghai United first exploded on to the Australian real estate scene just over a year ago, closing the $130 million purchase of the corner block at 110-118 Bathurst Street and 203 Castlereagh Street in Sydney’s CBD – the jewel of their investments. It was acquired with another Sydney property developer and investor, Visionary Investment Group.
Magellan Financial Group Limited (MFG):
Magellan co-founder and chief investment officer Hamish Douglass has said his firm’s technology-heavy portfolio will survive and even thrive under US President Donald Trump in an address to as many as 2000 advisers, brokers and investors in Melbourne on Tuesday evening. The ambitious scale of the event – which invited parallels with Berkshire Hathaway’s annual general meeting and Apple product launches – had the large crowd treated to Magellan’s house view about the speed of technological change. Mr Douglass, however, also delivered an important update on the impact of the Trump presidency on the portfolio, which he felt was perhaps the biggest risk facing investors but which he expected would be broadly positive.
QBE Insurance Group Limited (QBE):
QBE chief executive John Neal, who had his pay docked $550,000 for failing to disclose his relationship with his executive assistant, personally signed off on the policy he breached by stressing it’s not what you say, ‘‘it’s what you DO’’. The policy was introduced just months after Marty Becker took on the role as QBE chairman following a long career in the United States, suggesting the potential influence of USstyle ‘‘love contracts’’ that ban office romances, and the growing importance of the issue in Australian workplaces. Mr Becker became QBE chairman on April 1, 2014. Speaking at the company’s AGM the next day, Mr Becker spoke about developing a pay structure that reflected ‘‘ONE QBE values’’ that were clearly linked to strategy.
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