360 Capital Group (TGP); Asia Pacific Data Centre Group (AJD); NextDC Limited (NXT):
Data storage operator NextDC has launched a $213 million takeover bid for Asia Pacific Data Centres, just one day after the property trust received a rival buy-out proposal from 360 Capital. The tussle over APDC has been building over the past few weeks after 360 Capital, led by Tony Pitt, called for a meeting to oust the current management and take over running the fund. Mr Pitt has steadily stepped up the pressure, flagging a $1.80 proposal to buy out investors in the trust last week. The 360 Capital proposal, while still conditional, was formally lodged with the data centres trust on Tuesday. The APDC management then granted Mr Pitt’s team due diligence late on Tuesday.
AGL Energy Limited (AGL); Origin Energy Limited (ORG):
The dominant retailers should make way for new entrants, says the regulator. He blames NSW, Queensland and ACT governments for the doubling in prices. Competition regulator Rod Sims wants to ease the energy crisis by helping consumers to find ‘‘much cheaper’’ electricity offers and lowering barriers to new suppliers. ‘‘Indeed, their market power is shown by the recent Queensland Government direction to alter their bidding; wholesale prices fell immediately,’’ Mr Sims says. NSW had added to the problem by selling two large power stations – Macquarie and Liddell – to AGL Energy. The Australian Energy Markets Commission said in its 2017 retail competition review that consumers are missing out on savings of up to $507 a year because they are not shopping around, and power companies Origin Energy, AGL Energy and EnergyAustralia enjoy excessive margins in Victoria.
BC Iron Limited (BCI); Beach Energy Limited (BPT); Capilano Honey Limited (CZZ); Estia Health Limited (EHE); Goldfields Money (GMY); Newzulu Limited (NWZ); Seven Group Holdings Limited (SVM); Seven West Media Limited (SWM):
Back to what he does best – make money. He’s had his controversies in 2017, but billionaire Kerry Stokes is doing what he does best: making money. Just about all the stocks controlled by Stokes, a Financial Review Rich List perennial, are up strongly from the beginning of the year, even those in supposedly unfashionable industries. Stokes has the bulk of his wealth in the listed Seven Group Holdings, which in turn owns about 35 per cent of Seven West Media. Stokes also has been increasing his shareholding in BC Iron, now holding just under 28 per cent of the stock. BC Iron has a portfolio of iron ore assets in WA’s Pilbara region and is a minnow, trading at about 1¢ per share. It has halved in recent months. Oil and gas producer Beach Energy has been a better performer this year, rising about 9 per cent since January 1. The Adelaide-headquartered company has interests in more than 450 exploration and production tenements in Australia and New Zealand but has a core focus on the Cooper Basin. He also has shares in minnow digital media company Newzulu and Goldfields Money, a former credit union based in Kalgoorlie. Stokes’ portfolio has diversification through his stakes in aged care property company Estia Health and Capilano Honey.
Brambles Limited (BXB):
Mid-tier private equity firms are increasingly eyeing potential investments in the fast-growing craft beer sector in Australia, with corporate finance experts suggesting it is only a matter of time before there is a spate of buyout activity, mirroring the experience of the United States. Also in the brewing sector, the Brambles-owned keg business Kegstar has acquired the Melbourne-based Keg Lease company from the Meddings family. Keg Lease owns 21,000 kegs that are leased out to 125 customers. Kegstar owns 120,000 kegs that it rents to 200 customers. Brambles took full ownership of Kegstar in late 2015.
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Limited (DMP):
Shares in ASX-listed Domino’s Pizza Enterprises have slumped after the New York-listed Domino’s Pizza Inc reported worse than expected international sales, and warned that delivery services such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats had partly drowned out some of the pizza chain’s marketing efforts. Shares in Australia’s DPE fell 5.2 per cent on Wednesday to $55.00, and have now fallen more than 30 per cent since their most recent high of $80.69 last August. Local investors took their lead from offshore. DPI stock tumbled 10.1 per cent on Tuesday, although the stock is still up 33 per cent in the last year.
Macquarie Group Limited (MQG):
Macquarie Group has chosen Moelis & Co and its own investment banking arm to advise on the sale of its 42 per cent stake in Washington utility Puget Energy, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The stake, which is worth as much as $US4.5 billion ($5.7 billion) and held in a fund belonging to Macquarie’s infrastructure business, will be put up for sale later this year, according to two of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The timetable for the sale is dependent on Puget’s discussions with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission about the electric and gas prices the utility will charge going forward.
Mirvac Group (MGR):
Developer Mirvac has sold a half stake in a landmark Collins Street office development in Melbourne to Singapore’s Suntec REIT for $414 million. The deal for the 477 Collins Street project was struck on a capitalisation rate of 4.8 per cent, a sharp metric that is indicative of a commercial property market nearing a peak in values. The transaction is a fund-through arrangement, in which Suntec funds half the development costs of the landmark tower.
Super Retail Group Limited (SUL):
The $1.5 billion automotive parts retailer Bapcor is eyeing a toehold in Asia in its next leg of expansion after the company revealed it had found an extra $11 million in cost savings after a review of the Hellaby business it acquired in New Zealand for $334 million in January, Bapcor has been active on the acquisition front since listing on the ASX in April 2014. It acquired Metcash’s automotive operations in mid-2015 for $275 million, which gave it ownership of Autobarn, Autopro and Midas Mufflers. Mr Abotomey said the extraction of synergies from the Metcash auto acquisition had been smooth and the company was using the same techniques with Hellaby. He also said that the retail sector in car parts was still subject to heavy competition and discounting. Super Retail Group, which runs the Supercheap Auto retail chain, is a big rival. Super Retail on Tuesday revealed it would scrap the Amart Sports chain and convert all those stores to its bigger sports retailing brand Rebel. Macquarie analysts said Super Retail’s automotive division, which represented 47 per cent of group earnings, was ‘‘less prone to disruption’’ than the sports retailing businesses.
Treasury Wine Estates Limited (TWE):
This year is shaping up as a great vintage for Treasury Wine Estates investors, with Tuesday’s 2 per cent rise taking gains in 2017 to more than 20 per cent. And the future is looking bright too according to Bank of America-Merrill Lynch analyst David Errington, who reckons earnings are set to more than double over the next three years.
Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC):
Ex-Westpac CEO Gail Kelly on her big GFC mistake Former Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly concedes she made mistakes in the way she handled the public outrage over Westpac’s outsized mortgage rate increase in the midst of the GFC, and says her strategy of ‘‘seeking to be a small target’’ no longer works with a community that has lost trust in banks. In her new book Live Lead Learn: My Stories of Life & Leadership, the former Westpac and St George CEO calls for senior bankers to step out of the shadows and stand up against their protective media advisers, and to do a better job of engaging in debate to explain the crucial contribution banks make to the economy. Kelly admits this was an area where she had failings during her leadership of Westpac as she sought to protect her own image. ‘‘The noise level is high, the outrage is real, and bankers keeping their heads down creates a vacuum that others will fill,’’ she writes.
(Source: AIMS)
Data storage operator NextDC has launched a $213 million takeover bid for Asia Pacific Data Centres, just one day after the property trust received a rival buy-out proposal from 360 Capital. The tussle over APDC has been building over the past few weeks after 360 Capital, led by Tony Pitt, called for a meeting to oust the current management and take over running the fund. Mr Pitt has steadily stepped up the pressure, flagging a $1.80 proposal to buy out investors in the trust last week. The 360 Capital proposal, while still conditional, was formally lodged with the data centres trust on Tuesday. The APDC management then granted Mr Pitt’s team due diligence late on Tuesday.
AGL Energy Limited (AGL); Origin Energy Limited (ORG):
The dominant retailers should make way for new entrants, says the regulator. He blames NSW, Queensland and ACT governments for the doubling in prices. Competition regulator Rod Sims wants to ease the energy crisis by helping consumers to find ‘‘much cheaper’’ electricity offers and lowering barriers to new suppliers. ‘‘Indeed, their market power is shown by the recent Queensland Government direction to alter their bidding; wholesale prices fell immediately,’’ Mr Sims says. NSW had added to the problem by selling two large power stations – Macquarie and Liddell – to AGL Energy. The Australian Energy Markets Commission said in its 2017 retail competition review that consumers are missing out on savings of up to $507 a year because they are not shopping around, and power companies Origin Energy, AGL Energy and EnergyAustralia enjoy excessive margins in Victoria.
BC Iron Limited (BCI); Beach Energy Limited (BPT); Capilano Honey Limited (CZZ); Estia Health Limited (EHE); Goldfields Money (GMY); Newzulu Limited (NWZ); Seven Group Holdings Limited (SVM); Seven West Media Limited (SWM):
Back to what he does best – make money. He’s had his controversies in 2017, but billionaire Kerry Stokes is doing what he does best: making money. Just about all the stocks controlled by Stokes, a Financial Review Rich List perennial, are up strongly from the beginning of the year, even those in supposedly unfashionable industries. Stokes has the bulk of his wealth in the listed Seven Group Holdings, which in turn owns about 35 per cent of Seven West Media. Stokes also has been increasing his shareholding in BC Iron, now holding just under 28 per cent of the stock. BC Iron has a portfolio of iron ore assets in WA’s Pilbara region and is a minnow, trading at about 1¢ per share. It has halved in recent months. Oil and gas producer Beach Energy has been a better performer this year, rising about 9 per cent since January 1. The Adelaide-headquartered company has interests in more than 450 exploration and production tenements in Australia and New Zealand but has a core focus on the Cooper Basin. He also has shares in minnow digital media company Newzulu and Goldfields Money, a former credit union based in Kalgoorlie. Stokes’ portfolio has diversification through his stakes in aged care property company Estia Health and Capilano Honey.
Brambles Limited (BXB):
Mid-tier private equity firms are increasingly eyeing potential investments in the fast-growing craft beer sector in Australia, with corporate finance experts suggesting it is only a matter of time before there is a spate of buyout activity, mirroring the experience of the United States. Also in the brewing sector, the Brambles-owned keg business Kegstar has acquired the Melbourne-based Keg Lease company from the Meddings family. Keg Lease owns 21,000 kegs that are leased out to 125 customers. Kegstar owns 120,000 kegs that it rents to 200 customers. Brambles took full ownership of Kegstar in late 2015.
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Limited (DMP):
Shares in ASX-listed Domino’s Pizza Enterprises have slumped after the New York-listed Domino’s Pizza Inc reported worse than expected international sales, and warned that delivery services such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats had partly drowned out some of the pizza chain’s marketing efforts. Shares in Australia’s DPE fell 5.2 per cent on Wednesday to $55.00, and have now fallen more than 30 per cent since their most recent high of $80.69 last August. Local investors took their lead from offshore. DPI stock tumbled 10.1 per cent on Tuesday, although the stock is still up 33 per cent in the last year.
Macquarie Group Limited (MQG):
Macquarie Group has chosen Moelis & Co and its own investment banking arm to advise on the sale of its 42 per cent stake in Washington utility Puget Energy, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The stake, which is worth as much as $US4.5 billion ($5.7 billion) and held in a fund belonging to Macquarie’s infrastructure business, will be put up for sale later this year, according to two of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The timetable for the sale is dependent on Puget’s discussions with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission about the electric and gas prices the utility will charge going forward.
Mirvac Group (MGR):
Developer Mirvac has sold a half stake in a landmark Collins Street office development in Melbourne to Singapore’s Suntec REIT for $414 million. The deal for the 477 Collins Street project was struck on a capitalisation rate of 4.8 per cent, a sharp metric that is indicative of a commercial property market nearing a peak in values. The transaction is a fund-through arrangement, in which Suntec funds half the development costs of the landmark tower.
Super Retail Group Limited (SUL):
The $1.5 billion automotive parts retailer Bapcor is eyeing a toehold in Asia in its next leg of expansion after the company revealed it had found an extra $11 million in cost savings after a review of the Hellaby business it acquired in New Zealand for $334 million in January, Bapcor has been active on the acquisition front since listing on the ASX in April 2014. It acquired Metcash’s automotive operations in mid-2015 for $275 million, which gave it ownership of Autobarn, Autopro and Midas Mufflers. Mr Abotomey said the extraction of synergies from the Metcash auto acquisition had been smooth and the company was using the same techniques with Hellaby. He also said that the retail sector in car parts was still subject to heavy competition and discounting. Super Retail Group, which runs the Supercheap Auto retail chain, is a big rival. Super Retail on Tuesday revealed it would scrap the Amart Sports chain and convert all those stores to its bigger sports retailing brand Rebel. Macquarie analysts said Super Retail’s automotive division, which represented 47 per cent of group earnings, was ‘‘less prone to disruption’’ than the sports retailing businesses.
Treasury Wine Estates Limited (TWE):
This year is shaping up as a great vintage for Treasury Wine Estates investors, with Tuesday’s 2 per cent rise taking gains in 2017 to more than 20 per cent. And the future is looking bright too according to Bank of America-Merrill Lynch analyst David Errington, who reckons earnings are set to more than double over the next three years.
Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC):
Ex-Westpac CEO Gail Kelly on her big GFC mistake Former Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly concedes she made mistakes in the way she handled the public outrage over Westpac’s outsized mortgage rate increase in the midst of the GFC, and says her strategy of ‘‘seeking to be a small target’’ no longer works with a community that has lost trust in banks. In her new book Live Lead Learn: My Stories of Life & Leadership, the former Westpac and St George CEO calls for senior bankers to step out of the shadows and stand up against their protective media advisers, and to do a better job of engaging in debate to explain the crucial contribution banks make to the economy. Kelly admits this was an area where she had failings during her leadership of Westpac as she sought to protect her own image. ‘‘The noise level is high, the outrage is real, and bankers keeping their heads down creates a vacuum that others will fill,’’ she writes.
(Source: AIMS)
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