Atlas Iron Limited (AGO):
The West Australian government has thrown a spanner into the three-way battle of the billionaires over Atlas Iron. Shares in takeover target Atlas Iron plunged this morning after the West Australian government indicated Atlas did not have a priority right to develop crucial iron ore berths at Port Hedland. Atlas’s rights at Port Hedland, the world’s biggest iron ore port, have been central to it attracting a takeover offer from Mineral Resources and appear to have played a key role in attracting both Fortescue Metals Group and Hancock Prospecting on to its share register. But the rights of Atlas and its partners in the North West Infrastructure Alliance are now in doubt, with Atlas telling the ASX this morning that it had received notice from the office of West Australian transport minister Rita Saffiotti that “implies” NWI does not have a priority right. Instead, any application by NWI to develop the two berths at Port Hedland’s South West Creek will be assessed on its merits. “Atlas considers that this position is contrary to the previous stated policy of the Western Australian government and is considering its position with respect to this notice,” Atlas said.
Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (BTH):
Bigtincan Holdings is seeking to raise $15 million, hiring Baillieu Holst to oversee a placement to institutions. The offer price has been pegged at 35¢ per share, representing a 6.7 per cent discount to the last close and a 9.8 per cent discount to the five-day volume weighted average price, according to a term sheet sent to fund managers. The content sharing company will use part of the deal proceeds for acquisitions. Established in Sydney in 2011 and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange five years later, Bigtincan seeks to transform the way sales and service organisations access, interact with, present, collaborate and share content.
Bubs Australia Ltd (BUB):
Bubs Australia was in the market on Thursday, seeking to raise $40 million, as foreshadowed by Street Talk. The infant milk formula and organic infant food company mandated Bell Potter Securities and Morgans to manage the placement which it said could be upsized, depending on demand. The offer price is 75¢ a share and the brokers asked for bids to be submitted by 4pm, according to a term sheet sent to fund managers. Post the raising, Bubs' market capitalisation will be $328.32 million. It comes only days after Bubs Australia announced a deal with online giant Alilbaba Group and local manufacturer Australia Deloraine Dairy, which was well received by investors.
Financial Review Challenger Ltd (CGF) :
Challenger Financial, Australia’s largest retirement annuities company, has heralded a dramatic change in its appetite for risk, outlining plans to steer its $11 billion investment portfolio out of property and higher-yield corporate debt in favour of safer high-grade bonds. Unveiling the surprise plans at an investor day in Sydney yesterday, Challenger chief executive Brian Benari said the move would reward shareholders, manage risk and position the company for further growth. “Our asset allocation strategy is changing,” Mr Benari said. “Capital intensity will reduce, enabling us to organically fund a much bigger annuity book.” The strategy will involve swapping out higher risk bonds for safer AAA and AA-rated credit investments, and a sharp selldown in Challenger’s property investments. Challenger shares fell 1.3 per cent on the news to close at $12.69. The stock has gained 330 per cent over the past five years. But the change in tack comes after Challenger was faced with growing concerns over how much risk the company was taking to meet its 18 per cent return-on-equity target, amid booming sales of life insurance products to the nation’s expanding retiree population.
Godfreys Group Ltd (GFY):
Sales at vacuum retailer Godfreys have tumbled by an alarming 15 per cent in June, triggering another hefty profit downgrade and a fresh dilemma for 99-year-old John Johnston and his advisers as they urgently try and arrest the downward spiral. Mr Johnston, a cofounder of Godfreys in the 1930s who is trying to preserve the value of the business for his family through a takeover launched on April 9, has now moved to 82.87 per cent of the company, but the speed of the sales deterioration in the past few weeks is ominous. Godfreys told the ASX on Thursday that a new management team installed by Mr Johnston had found a much worse situation than they expected, with earnings before, interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for 2017-18 now forecast to be between zero and $1.5 million. This was prior to heavy restructuring and one-off costs. This compared with the previous guidance of underlying EBITDA before one-offs of about $3.5 million, outlined to the sharemarket on May 9.
Kogan.com Ltd (KGN):
Kogan.com founder Ruslan Kogan and chief financial officer David Shafer have “reluctantly” offloaded $42 million worth of the company’s shares, triggering a slide in the share price of the once-infallible online retailer. The Australian’s DataRoom column yesterday revealed online that investment bank UBS sold 6 million Kogan shares at $7 each. The company later confirmed the sale, saying Mr Kogan and his business partner Mr Shafer had received an unsolicited bid for 6 million shares and had “reluctantly accepted the bid due to personal financial commitments”. It’s unclear who exactly bought the shares but if it is a single owner, their identity will have to be disclosed to the market within two days due to ASX rules. The share sale comes just a week after Mr Kogan and Mr Shafter copped investor backlash over an abandoned attempt to sell $100m in company shares. Kogan.com’s share price plummeted from $9.80 to $8.10 last Friday.
National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB):
National Australia Bank’s newish head of business banking, Anthony Healy, has rejigged his division in preparation for an upswing in business credit, which NAB would say has played second fiddle to home lending for far too long. Healy, who has been in his role for six months, is applying the finishing touches to NAB Partners — a local version of the BNZ Partners model he implemented in his previous role as chief executive of Bank of New Zealand. The theory behind the new structure is that local leaders know the best solutions for all business customers, whatever their size. So instead of the business bank organising itself according to the size of the customer, there will be a three-way geographic split across the nation into metro south, metro north and agri and regional. Healy has told staff NAB Partners is about local leadership and the best business banking practices, with a particular focus on specialised segments that are growing faster than the wider business bank. They include commercial real estate (6.8 per cent growth), agri (6.6 per cent) and education and community (4.9 per cent).
Qantas Airways Limited (QAN):
A “terrifying” mid-air incident involving two Qantas A380 jets this week forced one of the aircraft into a 10-second “nosedive”, in which passengers held hands believing they were about to die. The plunge above the Pacific Ocean, about two hours into QF94 from Los Angeles to Melbourne, was believed to have been caused by the vortex, or “wake turbulence”, generated by another A380, QF12, which was flying from Los Angeles to Sydney and took off two minutes before QF94. Qantas did not report the incident to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, but after questions from The Australian, the safety watchdog last night sought an explanation from the airline and promised to review the response. While Qantas said no one was injured and no damage sustained, the incident traumatised some passengers. It is the latest in a string of mid-air scares potentially linked to the wake turbulence of the giant A380s.
(Source: AIMS)
The West Australian government has thrown a spanner into the three-way battle of the billionaires over Atlas Iron. Shares in takeover target Atlas Iron plunged this morning after the West Australian government indicated Atlas did not have a priority right to develop crucial iron ore berths at Port Hedland. Atlas’s rights at Port Hedland, the world’s biggest iron ore port, have been central to it attracting a takeover offer from Mineral Resources and appear to have played a key role in attracting both Fortescue Metals Group and Hancock Prospecting on to its share register. But the rights of Atlas and its partners in the North West Infrastructure Alliance are now in doubt, with Atlas telling the ASX this morning that it had received notice from the office of West Australian transport minister Rita Saffiotti that “implies” NWI does not have a priority right. Instead, any application by NWI to develop the two berths at Port Hedland’s South West Creek will be assessed on its merits. “Atlas considers that this position is contrary to the previous stated policy of the Western Australian government and is considering its position with respect to this notice,” Atlas said.
Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (BTH):
Bigtincan Holdings is seeking to raise $15 million, hiring Baillieu Holst to oversee a placement to institutions. The offer price has been pegged at 35¢ per share, representing a 6.7 per cent discount to the last close and a 9.8 per cent discount to the five-day volume weighted average price, according to a term sheet sent to fund managers. The content sharing company will use part of the deal proceeds for acquisitions. Established in Sydney in 2011 and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange five years later, Bigtincan seeks to transform the way sales and service organisations access, interact with, present, collaborate and share content.
Bubs Australia Ltd (BUB):
Bubs Australia was in the market on Thursday, seeking to raise $40 million, as foreshadowed by Street Talk. The infant milk formula and organic infant food company mandated Bell Potter Securities and Morgans to manage the placement which it said could be upsized, depending on demand. The offer price is 75¢ a share and the brokers asked for bids to be submitted by 4pm, according to a term sheet sent to fund managers. Post the raising, Bubs' market capitalisation will be $328.32 million. It comes only days after Bubs Australia announced a deal with online giant Alilbaba Group and local manufacturer Australia Deloraine Dairy, which was well received by investors.
Financial Review Challenger Ltd (CGF) :
Challenger Financial, Australia’s largest retirement annuities company, has heralded a dramatic change in its appetite for risk, outlining plans to steer its $11 billion investment portfolio out of property and higher-yield corporate debt in favour of safer high-grade bonds. Unveiling the surprise plans at an investor day in Sydney yesterday, Challenger chief executive Brian Benari said the move would reward shareholders, manage risk and position the company for further growth. “Our asset allocation strategy is changing,” Mr Benari said. “Capital intensity will reduce, enabling us to organically fund a much bigger annuity book.” The strategy will involve swapping out higher risk bonds for safer AAA and AA-rated credit investments, and a sharp selldown in Challenger’s property investments. Challenger shares fell 1.3 per cent on the news to close at $12.69. The stock has gained 330 per cent over the past five years. But the change in tack comes after Challenger was faced with growing concerns over how much risk the company was taking to meet its 18 per cent return-on-equity target, amid booming sales of life insurance products to the nation’s expanding retiree population.
Godfreys Group Ltd (GFY):
Sales at vacuum retailer Godfreys have tumbled by an alarming 15 per cent in June, triggering another hefty profit downgrade and a fresh dilemma for 99-year-old John Johnston and his advisers as they urgently try and arrest the downward spiral. Mr Johnston, a cofounder of Godfreys in the 1930s who is trying to preserve the value of the business for his family through a takeover launched on April 9, has now moved to 82.87 per cent of the company, but the speed of the sales deterioration in the past few weeks is ominous. Godfreys told the ASX on Thursday that a new management team installed by Mr Johnston had found a much worse situation than they expected, with earnings before, interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for 2017-18 now forecast to be between zero and $1.5 million. This was prior to heavy restructuring and one-off costs. This compared with the previous guidance of underlying EBITDA before one-offs of about $3.5 million, outlined to the sharemarket on May 9.
Kogan.com Ltd (KGN):
Kogan.com founder Ruslan Kogan and chief financial officer David Shafer have “reluctantly” offloaded $42 million worth of the company’s shares, triggering a slide in the share price of the once-infallible online retailer. The Australian’s DataRoom column yesterday revealed online that investment bank UBS sold 6 million Kogan shares at $7 each. The company later confirmed the sale, saying Mr Kogan and his business partner Mr Shafer had received an unsolicited bid for 6 million shares and had “reluctantly accepted the bid due to personal financial commitments”. It’s unclear who exactly bought the shares but if it is a single owner, their identity will have to be disclosed to the market within two days due to ASX rules. The share sale comes just a week after Mr Kogan and Mr Shafter copped investor backlash over an abandoned attempt to sell $100m in company shares. Kogan.com’s share price plummeted from $9.80 to $8.10 last Friday.
National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB):
National Australia Bank’s newish head of business banking, Anthony Healy, has rejigged his division in preparation for an upswing in business credit, which NAB would say has played second fiddle to home lending for far too long. Healy, who has been in his role for six months, is applying the finishing touches to NAB Partners — a local version of the BNZ Partners model he implemented in his previous role as chief executive of Bank of New Zealand. The theory behind the new structure is that local leaders know the best solutions for all business customers, whatever their size. So instead of the business bank organising itself according to the size of the customer, there will be a three-way geographic split across the nation into metro south, metro north and agri and regional. Healy has told staff NAB Partners is about local leadership and the best business banking practices, with a particular focus on specialised segments that are growing faster than the wider business bank. They include commercial real estate (6.8 per cent growth), agri (6.6 per cent) and education and community (4.9 per cent).
Qantas Airways Limited (QAN):
A “terrifying” mid-air incident involving two Qantas A380 jets this week forced one of the aircraft into a 10-second “nosedive”, in which passengers held hands believing they were about to die. The plunge above the Pacific Ocean, about two hours into QF94 from Los Angeles to Melbourne, was believed to have been caused by the vortex, or “wake turbulence”, generated by another A380, QF12, which was flying from Los Angeles to Sydney and took off two minutes before QF94. Qantas did not report the incident to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, but after questions from The Australian, the safety watchdog last night sought an explanation from the airline and promised to review the response. While Qantas said no one was injured and no damage sustained, the incident traumatised some passengers. It is the latest in a string of mid-air scares potentially linked to the wake turbulence of the giant A380s.
(Source: AIMS)
Latest comments