AMP Limited (AMP):
The AMP Capital Shopping Centre Fund and the AMP Capital Diversified Property Fund have teamed up to make the year’s largest retail property purchase, with the pair buying a half stake in the massive Indooroopilly Shopping Centre in Brisbane for $800 million. The two AMPmanaged funds each acquired a 25 per cent stake in the landmark shopping centre from investment manager Eureka-Real Assets, that was acting for the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation. While CSC will retain a half stake in the $1.6bn centre, AMP Capital will also assume the management of the super-regional centre in a transaction that showed a crisp yield of about 4.25 per cent. Winning control of the centre is a major coup for the AMP, which will now have a platform from which to expand in the city and take on the dominant player, Scentre Group, which owns the Westfield malls in Australia and New Zealand. AMP Capital Global head of real estate Carmel Hourigan said Indooroopilly centre was in the sweet spot of what AMP Capital does well for its investors. “Indooroopilly Shopping Centre and its customers will also benefit from AMP Capital’s high-quality and well-established retail management team, which looks after a stable of similarly high-quality assets and can bring leanings from those centres to Indooroopilly. We look forward to an ongoing relationship with CSC and Eureka-Real Assets.” Ms Hourigan said.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation's largest mortgage, is launching a major overhaul of its lending policies in a bid to "ensure the long-term sustainability of the property market". It will include toughening of existing lending policies, such as increasing deposits, and the introduction of new measures that will make it harder for borrowers in higher risk suburbs to get loans. Borrowers will face more rigorous scrutiny of their capacity to repay loans, such as more evidence of any other liabilities and commitments that might impact their long-term capacity to service their outstanding debt. "This is part of our continued commitment to ensuring the financial well-being of our customers and the long-term sustainability of the Australian property market," a bank spokesman said. CBA has issued dozens of changes to lending policies in the first tranche of reforms with others expected to be rolled out in the lead-up to the weekend deadline. A key change will be tougher credit policies for 'certain property types' in 'selected postcodes', which have yet to be specified but are likely to replicate other lenders' caution concerning inner suburban apartments. The bank is expected to launch a postcode blacklist where the maximum loan to value ratio without lenders' mortgage insurance (LMI) will be lowered by 80 per cent to 70 per cent.
Downer Edi Limited (DOW) & AMP Limited (AMP):
Reliance Rail has confirmed that it has finalised its $2 billion refinancing and recapitalisation. In a statement, Reliance said it had refinanced $2bn with existing bank debt, bonds and an injection from shareholders AMP Capital and International Public Partnerships. The transaction involves a reduction in loans and new hedging that comprises both CPI and interest rate swaps. The details of the deal were foreshadowed in The Australian’s DataRoom on Monday, where AMP and IPP are providing $1.9bn of debt and $400m of equity. The venture, one of the country’s largest outsourcing engineering services companies, had been 49 per cent owned by Downer, 34 per cent by AMP Capital and 17 per cent by International Public Partnerships. The NSW state government had a right to buy all the equity for one dollar as part of an earlier deal to inject $175 million into the business after it had helped to stave off its collapse. However, IPP and AMP Capital have now opted to buy out the state, offering to recapitalise, refinance and restructure the business, and take on the $2bn debt pile. Under the deal, the NSW government will not have to inject any money into the business and it will receive extra maintenance facilities, which saves it spending on the new generations of trains.
MG Unit Trust (MGC):
Dairy giant Murray Goulburn has sold its dairy processing facility at Edith Creek, near Smithon in northwest Tasmania to Thai milk processor Dutch Mill. The Edith Creek plant, which employs about 80 staff and makes UHT milk, cream and custard, was already scheduled for closure on November 30, and Murray Goulburn (MGC) said the closure will proceed. It is believed that Dutch Mill intends to reopen the site, which was sold for an undisclosed price. The embattled Murray Goulburn last month agreed to sell its assets and liabilities to Canadian dairy giant Saputo.
Origin Energy Limited (ORG):
Origin Energy has upped the output from its Eraring coal-fired power station in NSW and outlined “step-change” costcutting at its Gladstone export LNG plant in a bid to rebuild profits and restore dividends. After being caught out by a 2015 collapse in oil prices, Origin plans to use high domestic energy prices to continue slashing debt before resuming shareholder payouts and undertaking new investment, chief executive Frank Calabria told investors yesterday. He declined to give guidance on when dividends would resume but said it would depend on having a robust capital structure in place. “We don’t think we have arrived at that point yet,” Mr Calabria said. Origin has slashed debt from a Gladstone-fuelled peak of $20 billion to $8bn and wants to get it down to $7bn as part of plans to lower gearing to 25-30 per cent. Origin shares jumped 21c to $8.80, their highest since August 2015 and well up from a low of $3.46 in January 2016, when the oil price tanked. Origin is planning to slash $500 million in operating and capital expenditure from the Australia Pacific LNG operation at Gladstone as part of a “step-change” program. That includes halving the cost of developing wells to $1.2m and reducing the cost per barrel of oil equivalent at which distributions from APLNG are triggered from $US48 to less than $US40. Origin said it had lifted Eraring’s output guidance for the year to 15.5-16 terawatt hours as it rushed to capitalise on higher wholesale electricity prices and fill the space left by the closure of the 1600MW Hazelwood brown-coal generator in Victoria. Origin told an investor day briefing that it had supported the increased output with new short- and long-term rail contracts, extra steel in its boilers and heavier gauge rail lines into the site on Lake Macquarie, two hours north of Sydney, to increase the amount of coal that could be delivered. It took delivery last month of a record 725,000 tonnes of fuel.
Orotongroup Limited (ORL):
Struggling fashion retailer Oroton and its long-suffering shareholders could soon be put of out their collective misery as a privatisation of the former market darling — now a micro-cap — firms as a likely outcome after a six-month review. Oroton was once valued by the market at nearly $400 million but a series of calamities, profit warnings, poor investment decisions and the loss of its flagship Polo Ralph Lauren licence has seen shares in Oroton collapse from a February 2011 peak of $9.21 to yesterday’s close of 43.5c. In the driver’s seat to lead a privatisation of Oroton, best known for its branded handbags and accessories, is the Lane Family, which is the fashion group’s biggest shareholder with a stake of 21.28 per cent. Caledonia Funds Management CIO Will Vicars, who recently extended a $3m loan to Oroton, has an 18.18 per cent in the company and could also play a key role in the group’s fate. Oroton requested a trading halt in its shares yesterday and is seeking to recommence trade tomorrow, when it will update the market about its strategic review. It could make for a combative annual general meeting on Friday, with the shares down 80 per cent since shareholders last met. Lurking in the background is listed clothing company Gazal, which in July bought a 7.5 per cent stake in Oroton at $1 a share and is its fourth-largest shareholder.
Seek Limited (SEK):
Online job marketplace Seek says earnings in the new financial year so far are ahead of its expectations, while revenue has been strong. That prompted the company (SEK) to lift its growth forecast for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to about 13 per cent for the year through to June from a 10 per cent target disclosed in August. Seek reaffirmed expectations for profit before one-time items and deducting investments in early-stage ventures of between $220 million and $230 million for the year, and revenue growth between 20 per cent and 25 per cent. The company’s profit rose by 11 per cent to $220.8 million on the same basis in the last fiscal year, while revenue increased by 9 per cent to $1.04 billion. Still, Seek said its net interest expense so far in the fiscal year has been higher than expected due to higher debt on the balance sheet of subsidiary Zhaopin Ltd.
Trimantium Growthops Limited (TGO):
Just days after its retail offer opened, Trimantium GrowthOps has confirmed that more than 20 per cent of its $70 million IPO had been taken up by a group of high-profile cornerstone investors, which included tech veterans and Wall Street heavy hitters. As exclusively revealed by The Australian this month, GrowthOps’ retail offer opened last Friday and is expected to close on December 6. It is offering between 60 million and 70 million shares at an indicative issue price range of $1-$1.17 each to fund its ongoing historical growth rates, increase the size of projects it can undertake, and complete the consolidation of eight profitable businesses being acquired through the IPO. GrowthOps managing partner Paul Mansfield told The Australian the listing was well-timed alongside the launch of Amazon Australia. “These insurgents, like Amazon, are well-executed companies with impressive tech stacks but the underlying technology is not revolutionary. They arrive in Australia with huge tech and marketing budgets, and a whole lot of excitement. “The question for CEOs and boards, is how do they survive and grow? It’s about being willing and able to adapt. GrowthOps works with organizations to create new products and services, and help them grow.” Mr. Mansfield said the increasing demand for technology services, driven by growth of cloud infrastructure, was creating tailwinds for the GrowthOps business. “Rapid adoption of cloud by governments and Australian businesses is creating huge opportunities for GrowthOps.”
（Source: AIMS）
The AMP Capital Shopping Centre Fund and the AMP Capital Diversified Property Fund have teamed up to make the year’s largest retail property purchase, with the pair buying a half stake in the massive Indooroopilly Shopping Centre in Brisbane for $800 million. The two AMPmanaged funds each acquired a 25 per cent stake in the landmark shopping centre from investment manager Eureka-Real Assets, that was acting for the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation. While CSC will retain a half stake in the $1.6bn centre, AMP Capital will also assume the management of the super-regional centre in a transaction that showed a crisp yield of about 4.25 per cent. Winning control of the centre is a major coup for the AMP, which will now have a platform from which to expand in the city and take on the dominant player, Scentre Group, which owns the Westfield malls in Australia and New Zealand. AMP Capital Global head of real estate Carmel Hourigan said Indooroopilly centre was in the sweet spot of what AMP Capital does well for its investors. “Indooroopilly Shopping Centre and its customers will also benefit from AMP Capital’s high-quality and well-established retail management team, which looks after a stable of similarly high-quality assets and can bring leanings from those centres to Indooroopilly. We look forward to an ongoing relationship with CSC and Eureka-Real Assets.” Ms Hourigan said.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation's largest mortgage, is launching a major overhaul of its lending policies in a bid to "ensure the long-term sustainability of the property market". It will include toughening of existing lending policies, such as increasing deposits, and the introduction of new measures that will make it harder for borrowers in higher risk suburbs to get loans. Borrowers will face more rigorous scrutiny of their capacity to repay loans, such as more evidence of any other liabilities and commitments that might impact their long-term capacity to service their outstanding debt. "This is part of our continued commitment to ensuring the financial well-being of our customers and the long-term sustainability of the Australian property market," a bank spokesman said. CBA has issued dozens of changes to lending policies in the first tranche of reforms with others expected to be rolled out in the lead-up to the weekend deadline. A key change will be tougher credit policies for 'certain property types' in 'selected postcodes', which have yet to be specified but are likely to replicate other lenders' caution concerning inner suburban apartments. The bank is expected to launch a postcode blacklist where the maximum loan to value ratio without lenders' mortgage insurance (LMI) will be lowered by 80 per cent to 70 per cent.
Downer Edi Limited (DOW) & AMP Limited (AMP):
Reliance Rail has confirmed that it has finalised its $2 billion refinancing and recapitalisation. In a statement, Reliance said it had refinanced $2bn with existing bank debt, bonds and an injection from shareholders AMP Capital and International Public Partnerships. The transaction involves a reduction in loans and new hedging that comprises both CPI and interest rate swaps. The details of the deal were foreshadowed in The Australian’s DataRoom on Monday, where AMP and IPP are providing $1.9bn of debt and $400m of equity. The venture, one of the country’s largest outsourcing engineering services companies, had been 49 per cent owned by Downer, 34 per cent by AMP Capital and 17 per cent by International Public Partnerships. The NSW state government had a right to buy all the equity for one dollar as part of an earlier deal to inject $175 million into the business after it had helped to stave off its collapse. However, IPP and AMP Capital have now opted to buy out the state, offering to recapitalise, refinance and restructure the business, and take on the $2bn debt pile. Under the deal, the NSW government will not have to inject any money into the business and it will receive extra maintenance facilities, which saves it spending on the new generations of trains.
MG Unit Trust (MGC):
Dairy giant Murray Goulburn has sold its dairy processing facility at Edith Creek, near Smithon in northwest Tasmania to Thai milk processor Dutch Mill. The Edith Creek plant, which employs about 80 staff and makes UHT milk, cream and custard, was already scheduled for closure on November 30, and Murray Goulburn (MGC) said the closure will proceed. It is believed that Dutch Mill intends to reopen the site, which was sold for an undisclosed price. The embattled Murray Goulburn last month agreed to sell its assets and liabilities to Canadian dairy giant Saputo.
Origin Energy Limited (ORG):
Origin Energy has upped the output from its Eraring coal-fired power station in NSW and outlined “step-change” costcutting at its Gladstone export LNG plant in a bid to rebuild profits and restore dividends. After being caught out by a 2015 collapse in oil prices, Origin plans to use high domestic energy prices to continue slashing debt before resuming shareholder payouts and undertaking new investment, chief executive Frank Calabria told investors yesterday. He declined to give guidance on when dividends would resume but said it would depend on having a robust capital structure in place. “We don’t think we have arrived at that point yet,” Mr Calabria said. Origin has slashed debt from a Gladstone-fuelled peak of $20 billion to $8bn and wants to get it down to $7bn as part of plans to lower gearing to 25-30 per cent. Origin shares jumped 21c to $8.80, their highest since August 2015 and well up from a low of $3.46 in January 2016, when the oil price tanked. Origin is planning to slash $500 million in operating and capital expenditure from the Australia Pacific LNG operation at Gladstone as part of a “step-change” program. That includes halving the cost of developing wells to $1.2m and reducing the cost per barrel of oil equivalent at which distributions from APLNG are triggered from $US48 to less than $US40. Origin said it had lifted Eraring’s output guidance for the year to 15.5-16 terawatt hours as it rushed to capitalise on higher wholesale electricity prices and fill the space left by the closure of the 1600MW Hazelwood brown-coal generator in Victoria. Origin told an investor day briefing that it had supported the increased output with new short- and long-term rail contracts, extra steel in its boilers and heavier gauge rail lines into the site on Lake Macquarie, two hours north of Sydney, to increase the amount of coal that could be delivered. It took delivery last month of a record 725,000 tonnes of fuel.
Orotongroup Limited (ORL):
Struggling fashion retailer Oroton and its long-suffering shareholders could soon be put of out their collective misery as a privatisation of the former market darling — now a micro-cap — firms as a likely outcome after a six-month review. Oroton was once valued by the market at nearly $400 million but a series of calamities, profit warnings, poor investment decisions and the loss of its flagship Polo Ralph Lauren licence has seen shares in Oroton collapse from a February 2011 peak of $9.21 to yesterday’s close of 43.5c. In the driver’s seat to lead a privatisation of Oroton, best known for its branded handbags and accessories, is the Lane Family, which is the fashion group’s biggest shareholder with a stake of 21.28 per cent. Caledonia Funds Management CIO Will Vicars, who recently extended a $3m loan to Oroton, has an 18.18 per cent in the company and could also play a key role in the group’s fate. Oroton requested a trading halt in its shares yesterday and is seeking to recommence trade tomorrow, when it will update the market about its strategic review. It could make for a combative annual general meeting on Friday, with the shares down 80 per cent since shareholders last met. Lurking in the background is listed clothing company Gazal, which in July bought a 7.5 per cent stake in Oroton at $1 a share and is its fourth-largest shareholder.
Seek Limited (SEK):
Online job marketplace Seek says earnings in the new financial year so far are ahead of its expectations, while revenue has been strong. That prompted the company (SEK) to lift its growth forecast for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to about 13 per cent for the year through to June from a 10 per cent target disclosed in August. Seek reaffirmed expectations for profit before one-time items and deducting investments in early-stage ventures of between $220 million and $230 million for the year, and revenue growth between 20 per cent and 25 per cent. The company’s profit rose by 11 per cent to $220.8 million on the same basis in the last fiscal year, while revenue increased by 9 per cent to $1.04 billion. Still, Seek said its net interest expense so far in the fiscal year has been higher than expected due to higher debt on the balance sheet of subsidiary Zhaopin Ltd.
Trimantium Growthops Limited (TGO):
Just days after its retail offer opened, Trimantium GrowthOps has confirmed that more than 20 per cent of its $70 million IPO had been taken up by a group of high-profile cornerstone investors, which included tech veterans and Wall Street heavy hitters. As exclusively revealed by The Australian this month, GrowthOps’ retail offer opened last Friday and is expected to close on December 6. It is offering between 60 million and 70 million shares at an indicative issue price range of $1-$1.17 each to fund its ongoing historical growth rates, increase the size of projects it can undertake, and complete the consolidation of eight profitable businesses being acquired through the IPO. GrowthOps managing partner Paul Mansfield told The Australian the listing was well-timed alongside the launch of Amazon Australia. “These insurgents, like Amazon, are well-executed companies with impressive tech stacks but the underlying technology is not revolutionary. They arrive in Australia with huge tech and marketing budgets, and a whole lot of excitement. “The question for CEOs and boards, is how do they survive and grow? It’s about being willing and able to adapt. GrowthOps works with organizations to create new products and services, and help them grow.” Mr. Mansfield said the increasing demand for technology services, driven by growth of cloud infrastructure, was creating tailwinds for the GrowthOps business. “Rapid adoption of cloud by governments and Australian businesses is creating huge opportunities for GrowthOps.”
（Source: AIMS）
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