Bega Cheese Ltd (BGA):
Bega Cheese shareholders have approved the institutional placement component of last year’s $160 million capital raising, giving the food and dairy firm further scope to expand. The company (BGA) says 84.3 per cent of proxy votes were made in favour of the $122.5 million placement, which was followed by a $37.5 million share purchase plan. The approval means Bega, which last year acquired brands including Vegemite, could now undertake further share placements to fund any growth opportunities it identifies.
Billabong International Limited (BBG):
Billabong is recommending shareholders accept a formal buyout proposal by the owner of Quiksilver, Roxy and DC Shoes. Billabong (BBG) today said it has entered into a scheme of arrangement under which America’s Boardriders will acquire all its ASX-listed shares other than the 19 per cent owned by Oaktree Capital Management, which already controls Boardriders. The offer is worth $1 per share, a premium of 28 per cent to Billabong’s 78 cent closing price on November 30 — the day before the proposal was first announced. Billabong directors have unanimously backed the scheme and are urging shareholders to vote in favour. The company has been subject to a number of takeover bids, including from US private equity groups TPG and Sycamore during the 2013 financial year, when its annual loss swelled to almost $860 million. The Gold Coast-based retailer recorded a $77 million loss in the 2017 financial year, worse than the previous year’s $24 million loss. Billabong shares were up 2.5 cents, or 2.6 per cent, to 98.5 cents at 1147 AEDT on 5th Jan. 2018.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
US1.25 billion ($1.6bn) in long-term money markets in the US with the longest-maturity bond of its kind at a deep discount to its initial offering. It was the first large deal for a major Australian lender this year after the sector raised $100bn in international markets last calendar year, and bodes well for lower funding costs for the banks if longer-tenor instruments are deployed. The 30-year Tier 2 capital bond matures in 2048. The lengthy maturity on the bond allowed the bank to cut the spread on the bond’s issue from 1.75 per cent to 1.53 per cent above the US Treasury bond rate of 2.8 per cent. CBA group treasurer Paolo Tonucci said that debt spreads have contracted significantly over the past 24 months. In particular, subordinated debt has become less costly to issue. The combination of a very tight spread between subordinated and senior debt, together with limited additional cost to extend to 30 years made this a very attractive issuance opportunity. While many banks had fretted openly about the threat of a royal commission and the damage that could be wrought if international investors shunned the local banking sector, the strong uptake and low margin of the CBA bond could assuage these concerns. Funding costs for subordinated debts have continued to fall. The difference in the margin between subordinated and senior debt also slid to a three-year low.
Lovisa Holdings Ltd (LOV):
Budget jewellery chain Lovisa has defied the retail gloom and justified its share price surge by reporting a 7.4 per cent increase in sales for the December half, and upgrading its full-year profit outlook. The group, which counts billionaire Brett Blundy as a major shareholder, said sales during the Christmas and Boxing Day period were stronger than expected, with the group's 319 stores posting total sales growth of 18.8 per cent for the first half of the financial year, and like-for-like growth of 7.4 per cent. The company said it now expects earnings before interest and tax will come in at between $34.5 million and $35 million, up 22 per cent to 24 per cent on the prior year. Lovisa shares surged on the news, adding almost 12 per cent to surge to a new all-time high of $7.53 in early trade. Lovisa opened 38 stores in the 2017 financial year, and is planning to open between 20 and 30 in 2018. The company posted a 75 per cent increase in net profit in 2016-17, as its strategy to lift prices to recoup rising costs, and cut back on markdowns. The group operates around 145 stores in Australia, and says the capacity of for around stores. As such it has pushed hard into overseas markets, including Singapore, South Africa and the Middle East. In June 2017 it pushed into Spain, and in November it open a pilot store in the United States.
News Corporation (NWS):
Foxtel’s owners News Corp and Telstra have resolved their dispute over carriage fees for Sky News Australia, striking a deal to keep broadcasting the channel on the pay-television network. News Corp, which has fully owned Sky News for the past year, wanted Foxtel to increase the annual fee it pays for the channel, which it has invested in to make it a leading channel on the cable network. But fellow shareholder Telstra — which owns Foxtel’s other 50 per cent stake — had resisted the increase, ahead of the December 31 expiration of the current deal. While the details of the new deal are yet to be revealed, it is understood it was stuck as part of broader discussions between Foxtel and Fox Sports ahead of their planned merger. The previous carriage fee, understood to be about $30 million a year, had remained unchanged for more than a decade. The Foxtel-Fox Sports merger — which would see News Corp hold 65 per cent of the merged entity, compared to Telstra’s 35 per cent — received ACCC approval last month, and had been expected to be tied up by February ahead of a potential float on the ASX. The impasse between Foxtel’s shareholders had raised fears the deal merger could be delayed. Sky News Australia was initially jointly owned by Seven, Nine and the News Corp-aligned British satellite broadcaster BSkyB. News Corp bought out the other shareholders in December 2016, acquiring its 100 per cent ownership of the broadcaster for a reported $20m.
(Source: AIMS)
Bega Cheese shareholders have approved the institutional placement component of last year’s $160 million capital raising, giving the food and dairy firm further scope to expand. The company (BGA) says 84.3 per cent of proxy votes were made in favour of the $122.5 million placement, which was followed by a $37.5 million share purchase plan. The approval means Bega, which last year acquired brands including Vegemite, could now undertake further share placements to fund any growth opportunities it identifies.
Billabong International Limited (BBG):
Billabong is recommending shareholders accept a formal buyout proposal by the owner of Quiksilver, Roxy and DC Shoes. Billabong (BBG) today said it has entered into a scheme of arrangement under which America’s Boardriders will acquire all its ASX-listed shares other than the 19 per cent owned by Oaktree Capital Management, which already controls Boardriders. The offer is worth $1 per share, a premium of 28 per cent to Billabong’s 78 cent closing price on November 30 — the day before the proposal was first announced. Billabong directors have unanimously backed the scheme and are urging shareholders to vote in favour. The company has been subject to a number of takeover bids, including from US private equity groups TPG and Sycamore during the 2013 financial year, when its annual loss swelled to almost $860 million. The Gold Coast-based retailer recorded a $77 million loss in the 2017 financial year, worse than the previous year’s $24 million loss. Billabong shares were up 2.5 cents, or 2.6 per cent, to 98.5 cents at 1147 AEDT on 5th Jan. 2018.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
US1.25 billion ($1.6bn) in long-term money markets in the US with the longest-maturity bond of its kind at a deep discount to its initial offering. It was the first large deal for a major Australian lender this year after the sector raised $100bn in international markets last calendar year, and bodes well for lower funding costs for the banks if longer-tenor instruments are deployed. The 30-year Tier 2 capital bond matures in 2048. The lengthy maturity on the bond allowed the bank to cut the spread on the bond’s issue from 1.75 per cent to 1.53 per cent above the US Treasury bond rate of 2.8 per cent. CBA group treasurer Paolo Tonucci said that debt spreads have contracted significantly over the past 24 months. In particular, subordinated debt has become less costly to issue. The combination of a very tight spread between subordinated and senior debt, together with limited additional cost to extend to 30 years made this a very attractive issuance opportunity. While many banks had fretted openly about the threat of a royal commission and the damage that could be wrought if international investors shunned the local banking sector, the strong uptake and low margin of the CBA bond could assuage these concerns. Funding costs for subordinated debts have continued to fall. The difference in the margin between subordinated and senior debt also slid to a three-year low.
Lovisa Holdings Ltd (LOV):
Budget jewellery chain Lovisa has defied the retail gloom and justified its share price surge by reporting a 7.4 per cent increase in sales for the December half, and upgrading its full-year profit outlook. The group, which counts billionaire Brett Blundy as a major shareholder, said sales during the Christmas and Boxing Day period were stronger than expected, with the group's 319 stores posting total sales growth of 18.8 per cent for the first half of the financial year, and like-for-like growth of 7.4 per cent. The company said it now expects earnings before interest and tax will come in at between $34.5 million and $35 million, up 22 per cent to 24 per cent on the prior year. Lovisa shares surged on the news, adding almost 12 per cent to surge to a new all-time high of $7.53 in early trade. Lovisa opened 38 stores in the 2017 financial year, and is planning to open between 20 and 30 in 2018. The company posted a 75 per cent increase in net profit in 2016-17, as its strategy to lift prices to recoup rising costs, and cut back on markdowns. The group operates around 145 stores in Australia, and says the capacity of for around stores. As such it has pushed hard into overseas markets, including Singapore, South Africa and the Middle East. In June 2017 it pushed into Spain, and in November it open a pilot store in the United States.
News Corporation (NWS):
Foxtel’s owners News Corp and Telstra have resolved their dispute over carriage fees for Sky News Australia, striking a deal to keep broadcasting the channel on the pay-television network. News Corp, which has fully owned Sky News for the past year, wanted Foxtel to increase the annual fee it pays for the channel, which it has invested in to make it a leading channel on the cable network. But fellow shareholder Telstra — which owns Foxtel’s other 50 per cent stake — had resisted the increase, ahead of the December 31 expiration of the current deal. While the details of the new deal are yet to be revealed, it is understood it was stuck as part of broader discussions between Foxtel and Fox Sports ahead of their planned merger. The previous carriage fee, understood to be about $30 million a year, had remained unchanged for more than a decade. The Foxtel-Fox Sports merger — which would see News Corp hold 65 per cent of the merged entity, compared to Telstra’s 35 per cent — received ACCC approval last month, and had been expected to be tied up by February ahead of a potential float on the ASX. The impasse between Foxtel’s shareholders had raised fears the deal merger could be delayed. Sky News Australia was initially jointly owned by Seven, Nine and the News Corp-aligned British satellite broadcaster BSkyB. News Corp bought out the other shareholders in December 2016, acquiring its 100 per cent ownership of the broadcaster for a reported $20m.
(Source: AIMS)
Latest comments