Automotive Holdings Group Ltd (AHG):
Automotive Holdings Group agreed to acquire two franchised automotive dealerships in southern Auckland. The co‐located Hyundai and Mitsubishi dealerships are close to AHG’s existing Holden and Nissan dealerships in Manukau and will become part of the Group’s broader New Zealand operations. AHG managing director John McConnell said the transaction represented a valuable addition to the Company’s presence in Auckland. “This acquisition adds two important volume brands to our New Zealand portfolio and aligns with our automotive growth strategy to acquire and aggregate dealerships in and around existing AHG dealerships,” said Mr McConnell. “These are well‐run businesses and brands that can be rolled into an existing AHG hub with a number of initiatives that we can put in place to drive both incremental revenue and cost synergies across both dealerships,” he said. The acquisition involves a total consideration of NZ$7.5‐million for goodwill, plus stock and assets at valuation.
Billabong International Limited (BBG):
The chief executive of Billabong is confident the private equity firm set to buy the business will respect the heritage of the iconic Australian brand. US firm Oaktree has offered $1 a share for Billabong. It already owns 19 per cent of the company and also owns another iconic Australian-founded surfwear group, Quiksilver. Billabong chief Neil Fiske said Oaktree would continue Billabong's current strategy of amplifying the historic brand. "I firmly believe that brands will continue to be king. It will be all about the integrity and authenticity of those brands," he said. "If anything I see the emphasis on brands increasing." Billabong will submit a draft scheme booklet to the corporate regulator in the middle of January, with the shareholder vote to take place in mid to late March. If successful, the deal would be completed in mid-April.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
The corporate watchdog put a four-year investigation into a billion-dollar term deposit scam allegedly perpetrated by Commonwealth Bank and other banks “on hold” awaiting a decision by then chairman Tony D’Aloisio before killing it completely, internal Australian Securities & Investments Commission documents show. ASIC killed the investigation in March 2010 despite officers fearing term deposit customers were having their interest rates “approximately halved”, according to the documents, obtained by The Australian under Freedom of Information laws. As The Australian has previously revealed, in October 2006 ASIC launched an investigation into whether CBA was properly informing customers they would receive a much lower rate if they allowed their term deposits to roll over. Because ASIC took no action against CBA, other banks allegedly followed suit in failing to properly disclose rollover rates, leading to consumer detriment estimated at as much as $1 billion over five years. ASIC’s concerns peaked in 2008, as a meltdown on equities markets sparked by the global financial crisis prompted investors to flee to the perceived safety of fixed-interest investments including term deposits. However, one of the documents obtained under FOI confirms The Australian’s previous reporting that ASIC received its first complaints about CBA’s failure to properly disclose rollover rates in 2005.
Digitalx Ltd (DCC):
DigitalX Ltd is dipping its toes into cryptocurrency exchanges. The company has begun a risk of cryptocurrency exchanges, with a focus on the Australian marketplace. DigitalX will also utilise arbitrage trading to take advantage of mispricing across approved exchanges. Market making will involve providing liquidity to both sides of the cryptocurrency market while maintaining a small open position in the asset being traded. The company says this strategy is expected to produce the best results when price volatility is high. DigitalX says it doesn’t require an Australian Financial Services License to buy and sell the company’s digital currency on digital currency exchanges under the current regime.
Medibank Private Limited (MPL):
Affordability concerns fuelled a reduction in health insurance participation rates among Australians in 2017, but consumers could be in for some relief with this year’s premium increase tipped to be lower. Craig Drummond, chief executive of health insurance giant Medibank, told The Weekend Australian he was confident that the work his company had done on controlling its costs over the last 12 months would be reflected in the 2018 premium rate change. Medibank’s average rate increase in 2017 was 4.6 per cent, its lowest in 15 years. It was also below the industry average of 4.84 per cent, which was a decade low.
Pacific Star Network Limited (PNW):
Radio broadcaster and magazine publisher Pacific Star Network has announced its intention to merge with sports content and entertainment business Crocmedia. Under the merger, Pacific Star Network will issue 91.6 million shares to Crocmedia’s shareholders and executives in exchange for 100 per cent of the equity in the sports content firm. The merger would "create a leading sports content and entertainment business of scale with complementary services across multiple media platforms, providing a clear point of differentiation and an attractive platform for growth," a release to shareholders on Monday said. Pacific Star Network chairman Craig Coleman told shareholders the proposed merger was "transformational" for the business and would create a platform for future growth, allowing them to provide brand partners with multiple platforms. It also allowed them to leverage the “combined platform and operational expertise with other potential sports rights opportunities”. And it would allow the companies to cut costs, with $3 million worth of savings in "cost synergies" calculated.
Queensland Bauxite Limited (QBL):
Queensland Bauxite has requested a voluntary suspension of trade in its ASX listing after entering into a trading halt last week. The company expects its subsidiary Medical Cannabis Limited to sign a significant and strategic medical product joint venture deal, to be finalised with the ASX today or prior to market open tomorrow.
Quintis Ltd (QIN):
Former Quintis chief executive Frank Wilson is looking to return to the troubled sandalwood plantation group as part of a plan to get rid of the company’s top brass. A group of shareholders including Mr Wilson, who owns about 12.5 per cent of the company, yesterday announced they had requisitioned a meeting to tip out Quintis chairman Dalton Gooding, chief executive Julius Matthys and non-executive director John Groppoli and replace them with their own nominees. If the move is successful, Mr Wilson “will rejoin the company in a sales and marketing capacity for plantations and end product sales,” the group said yesterday. Quintis has been suspended from the ASX since May last year after its share price tumbled following the release in March of a report by short-sellers Glaucus Research alleging the company had a “Ponzi-like” structure.
Suncorp Group Ltd (SUN):
Insurer Suncorp Group expects the financial impact of the recent hailstorm in Melbourne to be between $160 million and $170 million. The company said it expected to receive more than 21,000 claims across its insurance brands including AAMI and Suncorp, with the majority of claims for home and motor damage. The Insurance Council of Australia in December declared the storm a "catastrophe" and, shortly afterwards, said there had been more than 25,000 insurance claims totaling $105 million. Suncorp added the total natural hazard claim costs for its half year ended December 31 would be in the range of $406 million to $416 million, which is $60 million to $70 million above the allowance for the half. Suncorp said its half-yearly results would be released to the market on February 15.
Vocus Group Limited (VOC):
Vocus Group has appointed Bellamy’s chairman John Ho as a non-executive director. Mr. Ho, who through Hong Kongbased Janchor Partners holds indirectly a 17.9 per cent interest in the telecommunications group, will receive no payment for his new role. Vocus chairman Vaughan Bowen on Monday said Mr Ho’s experience and background indicated he would make a valuable contribution. “Janchor hold a substantial stake in Vocus which, coupled with John’s position on the board, represent a long-term commitment to the company and increasing its enterprise value,” Mr. Bowen said in a statement. Janchor, which Mr. Ho founded in 2009, also owns 7.7 per cent in infant formula business Bellamy’s. He became its non-executive chairman in May.
(Source: AIMS)
Automotive Holdings Group agreed to acquire two franchised automotive dealerships in southern Auckland. The co‐located Hyundai and Mitsubishi dealerships are close to AHG’s existing Holden and Nissan dealerships in Manukau and will become part of the Group’s broader New Zealand operations. AHG managing director John McConnell said the transaction represented a valuable addition to the Company’s presence in Auckland. “This acquisition adds two important volume brands to our New Zealand portfolio and aligns with our automotive growth strategy to acquire and aggregate dealerships in and around existing AHG dealerships,” said Mr McConnell. “These are well‐run businesses and brands that can be rolled into an existing AHG hub with a number of initiatives that we can put in place to drive both incremental revenue and cost synergies across both dealerships,” he said. The acquisition involves a total consideration of NZ$7.5‐million for goodwill, plus stock and assets at valuation.
Billabong International Limited (BBG):
The chief executive of Billabong is confident the private equity firm set to buy the business will respect the heritage of the iconic Australian brand. US firm Oaktree has offered $1 a share for Billabong. It already owns 19 per cent of the company and also owns another iconic Australian-founded surfwear group, Quiksilver. Billabong chief Neil Fiske said Oaktree would continue Billabong's current strategy of amplifying the historic brand. "I firmly believe that brands will continue to be king. It will be all about the integrity and authenticity of those brands," he said. "If anything I see the emphasis on brands increasing." Billabong will submit a draft scheme booklet to the corporate regulator in the middle of January, with the shareholder vote to take place in mid to late March. If successful, the deal would be completed in mid-April.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
The corporate watchdog put a four-year investigation into a billion-dollar term deposit scam allegedly perpetrated by Commonwealth Bank and other banks “on hold” awaiting a decision by then chairman Tony D’Aloisio before killing it completely, internal Australian Securities & Investments Commission documents show. ASIC killed the investigation in March 2010 despite officers fearing term deposit customers were having their interest rates “approximately halved”, according to the documents, obtained by The Australian under Freedom of Information laws. As The Australian has previously revealed, in October 2006 ASIC launched an investigation into whether CBA was properly informing customers they would receive a much lower rate if they allowed their term deposits to roll over. Because ASIC took no action against CBA, other banks allegedly followed suit in failing to properly disclose rollover rates, leading to consumer detriment estimated at as much as $1 billion over five years. ASIC’s concerns peaked in 2008, as a meltdown on equities markets sparked by the global financial crisis prompted investors to flee to the perceived safety of fixed-interest investments including term deposits. However, one of the documents obtained under FOI confirms The Australian’s previous reporting that ASIC received its first complaints about CBA’s failure to properly disclose rollover rates in 2005.
Digitalx Ltd (DCC):
DigitalX Ltd is dipping its toes into cryptocurrency exchanges. The company has begun a risk of cryptocurrency exchanges, with a focus on the Australian marketplace. DigitalX will also utilise arbitrage trading to take advantage of mispricing across approved exchanges. Market making will involve providing liquidity to both sides of the cryptocurrency market while maintaining a small open position in the asset being traded. The company says this strategy is expected to produce the best results when price volatility is high. DigitalX says it doesn’t require an Australian Financial Services License to buy and sell the company’s digital currency on digital currency exchanges under the current regime.
Medibank Private Limited (MPL):
Affordability concerns fuelled a reduction in health insurance participation rates among Australians in 2017, but consumers could be in for some relief with this year’s premium increase tipped to be lower. Craig Drummond, chief executive of health insurance giant Medibank, told The Weekend Australian he was confident that the work his company had done on controlling its costs over the last 12 months would be reflected in the 2018 premium rate change. Medibank’s average rate increase in 2017 was 4.6 per cent, its lowest in 15 years. It was also below the industry average of 4.84 per cent, which was a decade low.
Pacific Star Network Limited (PNW):
Radio broadcaster and magazine publisher Pacific Star Network has announced its intention to merge with sports content and entertainment business Crocmedia. Under the merger, Pacific Star Network will issue 91.6 million shares to Crocmedia’s shareholders and executives in exchange for 100 per cent of the equity in the sports content firm. The merger would "create a leading sports content and entertainment business of scale with complementary services across multiple media platforms, providing a clear point of differentiation and an attractive platform for growth," a release to shareholders on Monday said. Pacific Star Network chairman Craig Coleman told shareholders the proposed merger was "transformational" for the business and would create a platform for future growth, allowing them to provide brand partners with multiple platforms. It also allowed them to leverage the “combined platform and operational expertise with other potential sports rights opportunities”. And it would allow the companies to cut costs, with $3 million worth of savings in "cost synergies" calculated.
Queensland Bauxite Limited (QBL):
Queensland Bauxite has requested a voluntary suspension of trade in its ASX listing after entering into a trading halt last week. The company expects its subsidiary Medical Cannabis Limited to sign a significant and strategic medical product joint venture deal, to be finalised with the ASX today or prior to market open tomorrow.
Quintis Ltd (QIN):
Former Quintis chief executive Frank Wilson is looking to return to the troubled sandalwood plantation group as part of a plan to get rid of the company’s top brass. A group of shareholders including Mr Wilson, who owns about 12.5 per cent of the company, yesterday announced they had requisitioned a meeting to tip out Quintis chairman Dalton Gooding, chief executive Julius Matthys and non-executive director John Groppoli and replace them with their own nominees. If the move is successful, Mr Wilson “will rejoin the company in a sales and marketing capacity for plantations and end product sales,” the group said yesterday. Quintis has been suspended from the ASX since May last year after its share price tumbled following the release in March of a report by short-sellers Glaucus Research alleging the company had a “Ponzi-like” structure.
Suncorp Group Ltd (SUN):
Insurer Suncorp Group expects the financial impact of the recent hailstorm in Melbourne to be between $160 million and $170 million. The company said it expected to receive more than 21,000 claims across its insurance brands including AAMI and Suncorp, with the majority of claims for home and motor damage. The Insurance Council of Australia in December declared the storm a "catastrophe" and, shortly afterwards, said there had been more than 25,000 insurance claims totaling $105 million. Suncorp added the total natural hazard claim costs for its half year ended December 31 would be in the range of $406 million to $416 million, which is $60 million to $70 million above the allowance for the half. Suncorp said its half-yearly results would be released to the market on February 15.
Vocus Group Limited (VOC):
Vocus Group has appointed Bellamy’s chairman John Ho as a non-executive director. Mr. Ho, who through Hong Kongbased Janchor Partners holds indirectly a 17.9 per cent interest in the telecommunications group, will receive no payment for his new role. Vocus chairman Vaughan Bowen on Monday said Mr Ho’s experience and background indicated he would make a valuable contribution. “Janchor hold a substantial stake in Vocus which, coupled with John’s position on the board, represent a long-term commitment to the company and increasing its enterprise value,” Mr. Bowen said in a statement. Janchor, which Mr. Ho founded in 2009, also owns 7.7 per cent in infant formula business Bellamy’s. He became its non-executive chairman in May.
(Source: AIMS)
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