Australian and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ):
ANZ Banking Group has EY Australia and law firm Allens in its corner to assist with the mammoth auction of its wealth arm, sources told Street Talk. EY is said to have compiled a vendor due diligence report dispatched to interested parties this month, while Allens will no doubt help the bank navigate the legal ramifications. This column revealed indicative bids are due in late May after prospective suitors received an information memorandum and diligence documents spanning several hundred pages. The documents landed in early April with financial institutions bankers gearing up for what is likely to be the largest deal in the sector this year. Some analysts have put a$4.5billion price tag on the ANZ wealth unit. ANZ has also sought to inject more tension into the wealth sale process by leaving open the option of an ASX listing. This may lead to a formal pitching process for banks in coming months but will also pose conflict issues with many already aligned to interested buyers. The lodging of indicative bids will follow ANZ’s interim profit results which are handed down on May 2.
Aurizon Holdings Limited (AZJ):
Queensland’s most important coal rail line has reopened nearly a month after Cyclone Debbie brought the state’s coalfields to a halt. Rail operator Aurizon Holdings said on Wednesday that it had restarted the main Goonyella coal haulage line on a limited basis. The line typically carries 52 per cent of Queensland’s coal, and is used extensively by BHP Billiton. It was the last of Aurizon’s four rail systems to reopen, although all are operating under reduced capacity. ‘‘The opening... will allow coal services to operate from mines across the Goonyella system to export terminals at Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay,’’ Aurizon said.
ASX Limited (ASX):
It’s revaluations all round for office owners, following the eye-watering price paid for the home of the ASX in Sydney on Wednesday. As Street Talk revealed, an offshore buyer snapped up Exchange Centre at 20 Bridge Street, getting in ahead of a wider sale process which was to ramp up when formal expressions of interest landed on Thursday. The winning price was rumoured to value the property on a yield of less than 4 percent and a capitalisation rate of less than 4.5per cent, which is expected to have fund managers sharpening their pencils ahead of June 30.
Bapcor Limited (BAP):
The $1.5 billion automotive parts supplier Bapcor has received a string of approaches for two unwanted businesses that came with the $334 million acquisition of New Zealand’s Hellaby Holdings, with chief executive Darryl Abotomey saying it is likely the duo will be sold in concurrent processes. He also said that discounting and promotional specials in the $5 billion car parts market in Australia was still rife after rival Repco had led the charge initially in discounting, and then Super Retail Group, which owns the Supercheap Auto chain, had joined in.‘‘In the retail segment it’s still as crazy as it has been for some time,’’ he said on Wednesday. Mr Abotomey said Bapcor had two different sets of advisers assisting in the likely sale of three shoe retailing businesses in New Zealand, which operate a combined 117 stores, and a resource services business.
The A2 Milk Company Limited (A2M):
Peter Nathan, the head of a2 Milk Company in Australia and New Zealand, has looked to further distance the group from problems faced by rival baby formula maker Bellamy’s Australia, after a2 confirmed that a strong start to the June half meant revenue for the full year would be much better than first anticipated. The upgrade, foreshadowed on Tuesday by The Australian Financial Review , means the company now expects sales for 2017 financial year will be $NZ525 million ($483 million), well above the consensus of analysts on Bloomberg of sales of $NZ511 million. The $2 billion New Zealand-based company had said in February that it expected sales in the second half would be lower than those of the first, due to the timing of major sales events such as Singles Day in China.
Crown Resorts Limited (CWN):
The architect of Crown Resorts’ push into China, Michael Chen, has left the casino group as the clean-out of top management continues following the detention of 15 staff members and at least three associates on the mainland last October. Mr Chen, a Harvard educated Taiwanese-American, was not caught up in the raids by Chinese police which had four Australians among those detained for ‘‘gambling related crimes’’. The ABC’s Four Corners reported Mr Chen was placed on ‘‘permanent leave’’ following the raids. But soon after that program aired, he looks to have left the company, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Mr Chen’s LinkedIn page indicates he left the casino group controlled by James Packer last month, after more than five years as the president of international marketing. Crown could not be reached for comment.
(Source: AIMS)
ANZ Banking Group has EY Australia and law firm Allens in its corner to assist with the mammoth auction of its wealth arm, sources told Street Talk. EY is said to have compiled a vendor due diligence report dispatched to interested parties this month, while Allens will no doubt help the bank navigate the legal ramifications. This column revealed indicative bids are due in late May after prospective suitors received an information memorandum and diligence documents spanning several hundred pages. The documents landed in early April with financial institutions bankers gearing up for what is likely to be the largest deal in the sector this year. Some analysts have put a$4.5billion price tag on the ANZ wealth unit. ANZ has also sought to inject more tension into the wealth sale process by leaving open the option of an ASX listing. This may lead to a formal pitching process for banks in coming months but will also pose conflict issues with many already aligned to interested buyers. The lodging of indicative bids will follow ANZ’s interim profit results which are handed down on May 2.
Aurizon Holdings Limited (AZJ):
Queensland’s most important coal rail line has reopened nearly a month after Cyclone Debbie brought the state’s coalfields to a halt. Rail operator Aurizon Holdings said on Wednesday that it had restarted the main Goonyella coal haulage line on a limited basis. The line typically carries 52 per cent of Queensland’s coal, and is used extensively by BHP Billiton. It was the last of Aurizon’s four rail systems to reopen, although all are operating under reduced capacity. ‘‘The opening... will allow coal services to operate from mines across the Goonyella system to export terminals at Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay,’’ Aurizon said.
ASX Limited (ASX):
It’s revaluations all round for office owners, following the eye-watering price paid for the home of the ASX in Sydney on Wednesday. As Street Talk revealed, an offshore buyer snapped up Exchange Centre at 20 Bridge Street, getting in ahead of a wider sale process which was to ramp up when formal expressions of interest landed on Thursday. The winning price was rumoured to value the property on a yield of less than 4 percent and a capitalisation rate of less than 4.5per cent, which is expected to have fund managers sharpening their pencils ahead of June 30.
Bapcor Limited (BAP):
The $1.5 billion automotive parts supplier Bapcor has received a string of approaches for two unwanted businesses that came with the $334 million acquisition of New Zealand’s Hellaby Holdings, with chief executive Darryl Abotomey saying it is likely the duo will be sold in concurrent processes. He also said that discounting and promotional specials in the $5 billion car parts market in Australia was still rife after rival Repco had led the charge initially in discounting, and then Super Retail Group, which owns the Supercheap Auto chain, had joined in.‘‘In the retail segment it’s still as crazy as it has been for some time,’’ he said on Wednesday. Mr Abotomey said Bapcor had two different sets of advisers assisting in the likely sale of three shoe retailing businesses in New Zealand, which operate a combined 117 stores, and a resource services business.
The A2 Milk Company Limited (A2M):
Peter Nathan, the head of a2 Milk Company in Australia and New Zealand, has looked to further distance the group from problems faced by rival baby formula maker Bellamy’s Australia, after a2 confirmed that a strong start to the June half meant revenue for the full year would be much better than first anticipated. The upgrade, foreshadowed on Tuesday by The Australian Financial Review , means the company now expects sales for 2017 financial year will be $NZ525 million ($483 million), well above the consensus of analysts on Bloomberg of sales of $NZ511 million. The $2 billion New Zealand-based company had said in February that it expected sales in the second half would be lower than those of the first, due to the timing of major sales events such as Singles Day in China.
Crown Resorts Limited (CWN):
The architect of Crown Resorts’ push into China, Michael Chen, has left the casino group as the clean-out of top management continues following the detention of 15 staff members and at least three associates on the mainland last October. Mr Chen, a Harvard educated Taiwanese-American, was not caught up in the raids by Chinese police which had four Australians among those detained for ‘‘gambling related crimes’’. The ABC’s Four Corners reported Mr Chen was placed on ‘‘permanent leave’’ following the raids. But soon after that program aired, he looks to have left the company, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Mr Chen’s LinkedIn page indicates he left the casino group controlled by James Packer last month, after more than five years as the president of international marketing. Crown could not be reached for comment.
(Source: AIMS)
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