Bell Financial Group Ltd (BFG):
Bell Financial Group has joined the likes of National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia in affirming a commitment to its online stockbroking business. On Thursday, the stockbroking and advisory business told the ASX it had completed the purchase of the 43.4 per cent of online broking arm Bell Direct which it didn't already own. The transaction, which was funded by a shareholder entitlement offer, received "very strong" support, according to Bell's statement. The capital raising saw 95.4 per cent of eligible investors participate, including large shareholders Bell Financial executive chairman Colin Bell and former Australia Post boss Ahmed Fahour. The move by the parent to full ownership of Bell Direct comes after Commonwealth Bank of Australia committed to its online broking division, CommSec, while National Australia Bank said it would look to divest MLC but retain JBWere and online trading unit nabtrade.
Cedar Woods Properties Limited (CWP):
ASX-listed residential developer Cedar Woods has offered an upbeat outlook for the coming year, tipping a jump in profit on the back of solid sales and settlements. The developer also expects a Brisbane project to kick off this half and noted that another development in Adelaide is close to being sold out. Cedar Woods expects profit for full-year 2018 to be slightly lower than the previous year, but expects a strong uplift in profit during 2019. The group reported net profit after tax of just $3.2 million for the first half of fiscal 2018 and flagged a weighting to the second half as some of its project stages were set for completion. After a “significant number” of settlements during May and June, the developer is now tipping its full-year profit to be around $40m. This is lower than the record $45.4m profit that the developer booked for full-year 2017 on the back of an increase in land sales around the country. The last three months have been a busy time for settlements and sales, Cedar Woods managing director Nathan Blackburne said, while settlements that were not completed last financial year are set to boost earnings during 2019.
Healthscope Ltd (HSO):
The sale of Healthscope’s property portfolio has been delayed until after the August reporting season, adding weight to the theory that the divestment plans were announced simply as a tactic to deter suitors BGH Capital and Brookfield. Investment bank UBS met with the Healthscope board last month, as reported by this column, and the understanding is that the bank was told directors would not turn their attention to the real estate portfolio until after its full-year results were delivered. In the weeks before Healthscope launched its initial public offering, a plan was considered by then owners The Carlyle Group and TPG Capital to sell its hospital sites separately but that was thwarted, apparently because chairwoman Paula Dwyer believed it was better to keep the assets together with the operational company following the listing. No doubt, suitors from that earlier process would be eager to come forward should the assets resurface in a sales process. Various parties in real estate are believed to be eager buyers. One source said its property valuations had increased substantially since the beginning of the year, and no doubt the company will be commanding a far higher price than some earlier may have anticipated.
iSentia Group Ltd (ISD):
Media monitoring company Isentia has appointed Yahoo7 boss Ed Harrison as incoming chief executive. The appointment followed an extensive search, Isentia (ISD) said, and comes after former chief executive John Croll resigned in February after nearly 20 years in the top job. Mr Harrison previously worked as sales director at Fairfax and as general manager of the Australian operations of out-of-home advertising company JC Decaux. Mr Snedden had been acting executive chairman but will revert to his role as non-executive chair when Mr Harrison begins his new role in August. Isentia will now be begin the search for a new chief financial officer to replace James Orlando who has resigned after one year at the company, Isentia told the market this morning. Mr Orlando will remain at the company until a new CFO has commenced.
Mineral Deposits Limited (MDL):
French group Eramet has declared its $350 million bid for Mineral Deposits final as it pushes for control of the Australian mineral sands miner. In an update yesterday, Eramet said it had control of nearly 39 per cent of the company following its $1.75 per share offer. The offer is unconditional and the company has declared that the price is its final bid. Eramet said it had control of 14.2 per cent of Mineral Deposits shares directly and 23.9 per cent of stock in an institutional acceptance facility that was opened earlier this week. The French company said the offer had been open for 10 weeks and no higher bid had come in from a rival bidder. The French company said the offer had been open for 10 weeks and no higher bid had come in from a rival bidder. Reaching 39 per cent has been a tough slog for Eramet and its adviser Macquarie, which has been working hard to get support. The offer opened to Mineral Deposits investors on May 14 and the take-up rate in the first fortnight was disappointing for Eramet. In that time, just a small stake of 0.01 per cent of the stock on issue was added to Eramet’s stake of 13.3 per cent. Macquarie then set about briefing Mineral Deposits shareholders.
Suncorp Group Ltd (SUN):
The drawn-out sale of Suncorp's life insurance is finally coming to an end. Street Talk understands Suncorp's board was preparing to meet as early as Friday and a key point on the agenda is its potential divestment of the life insurance unit. Sources close to the discussions said it might not be the outcome Suncorp had initially expected. It is understood Suncorp's advisers at Nomura and Luminis Partners have been negotiating with one party, understood to be Japan's Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc. It's believed Dai-ichi Life, which has wavered in the process several times over the past year, submitted a workable final offer pegged below the hoped-for $1 billion mark. Whether that meets Suncorp's expectations is another matter. Pulling the sale would be a blow for Suncorp boss Michael Cameron, who called inNomura and Luminis in February last year to help with the strategic review and subsequent auction. The auction has been a protracted affair with bidders on different timetables and dates shifting around.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW):
Just weeks after pulling off the largest retail real estate acquisition ever, the newly created Unibail-RodamcoWestfield is going into property sales mode. The company, created when Sir Frank Lowy sold his international mall empire to French group UnibailRodamco, has primary listings in Amsterdam and Paris and a Chess Depositary -Interest listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The CDIs are held by institutions and small retail investors and have a market capitalisation of about $40.16 billion. The newly created mall giant is under pressure to reduce the debt load it took on to finance its $US15bn ($20.32bn) acquisition of the ASX-listed Westfield, which closed last month, to create a global company with €62bn ($98.23bn) worth of property. The combined portfolio consists of 102 shopping malls, 13 -office properties and 10 convention centres in Europe and the US. Chief executive Christophe Cuvillier said the plan was to sell non-core assets from both the old Unibail-Rodamco portfolio and among the Westfield properties. First, he said, €3bn worth of properties from the old Unibail-Rodamco portfolio of €43bn would be sold. The next step would come later this year, when Unibail had analysed the 35 Westfield malls it purchased. The company would “see what we can sell there”, he said.
(Source: AIMS)
Bell Financial Group has joined the likes of National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia in affirming a commitment to its online stockbroking business. On Thursday, the stockbroking and advisory business told the ASX it had completed the purchase of the 43.4 per cent of online broking arm Bell Direct which it didn't already own. The transaction, which was funded by a shareholder entitlement offer, received "very strong" support, according to Bell's statement. The capital raising saw 95.4 per cent of eligible investors participate, including large shareholders Bell Financial executive chairman Colin Bell and former Australia Post boss Ahmed Fahour. The move by the parent to full ownership of Bell Direct comes after Commonwealth Bank of Australia committed to its online broking division, CommSec, while National Australia Bank said it would look to divest MLC but retain JBWere and online trading unit nabtrade.
Cedar Woods Properties Limited (CWP):
ASX-listed residential developer Cedar Woods has offered an upbeat outlook for the coming year, tipping a jump in profit on the back of solid sales and settlements. The developer also expects a Brisbane project to kick off this half and noted that another development in Adelaide is close to being sold out. Cedar Woods expects profit for full-year 2018 to be slightly lower than the previous year, but expects a strong uplift in profit during 2019. The group reported net profit after tax of just $3.2 million for the first half of fiscal 2018 and flagged a weighting to the second half as some of its project stages were set for completion. After a “significant number” of settlements during May and June, the developer is now tipping its full-year profit to be around $40m. This is lower than the record $45.4m profit that the developer booked for full-year 2017 on the back of an increase in land sales around the country. The last three months have been a busy time for settlements and sales, Cedar Woods managing director Nathan Blackburne said, while settlements that were not completed last financial year are set to boost earnings during 2019.
Healthscope Ltd (HSO):
The sale of Healthscope’s property portfolio has been delayed until after the August reporting season, adding weight to the theory that the divestment plans were announced simply as a tactic to deter suitors BGH Capital and Brookfield. Investment bank UBS met with the Healthscope board last month, as reported by this column, and the understanding is that the bank was told directors would not turn their attention to the real estate portfolio until after its full-year results were delivered. In the weeks before Healthscope launched its initial public offering, a plan was considered by then owners The Carlyle Group and TPG Capital to sell its hospital sites separately but that was thwarted, apparently because chairwoman Paula Dwyer believed it was better to keep the assets together with the operational company following the listing. No doubt, suitors from that earlier process would be eager to come forward should the assets resurface in a sales process. Various parties in real estate are believed to be eager buyers. One source said its property valuations had increased substantially since the beginning of the year, and no doubt the company will be commanding a far higher price than some earlier may have anticipated.
iSentia Group Ltd (ISD):
Media monitoring company Isentia has appointed Yahoo7 boss Ed Harrison as incoming chief executive. The appointment followed an extensive search, Isentia (ISD) said, and comes after former chief executive John Croll resigned in February after nearly 20 years in the top job. Mr Harrison previously worked as sales director at Fairfax and as general manager of the Australian operations of out-of-home advertising company JC Decaux. Mr Snedden had been acting executive chairman but will revert to his role as non-executive chair when Mr Harrison begins his new role in August. Isentia will now be begin the search for a new chief financial officer to replace James Orlando who has resigned after one year at the company, Isentia told the market this morning. Mr Orlando will remain at the company until a new CFO has commenced.
Mineral Deposits Limited (MDL):
French group Eramet has declared its $350 million bid for Mineral Deposits final as it pushes for control of the Australian mineral sands miner. In an update yesterday, Eramet said it had control of nearly 39 per cent of the company following its $1.75 per share offer. The offer is unconditional and the company has declared that the price is its final bid. Eramet said it had control of 14.2 per cent of Mineral Deposits shares directly and 23.9 per cent of stock in an institutional acceptance facility that was opened earlier this week. The French company said the offer had been open for 10 weeks and no higher bid had come in from a rival bidder. The French company said the offer had been open for 10 weeks and no higher bid had come in from a rival bidder. Reaching 39 per cent has been a tough slog for Eramet and its adviser Macquarie, which has been working hard to get support. The offer opened to Mineral Deposits investors on May 14 and the take-up rate in the first fortnight was disappointing for Eramet. In that time, just a small stake of 0.01 per cent of the stock on issue was added to Eramet’s stake of 13.3 per cent. Macquarie then set about briefing Mineral Deposits shareholders.
Suncorp Group Ltd (SUN):
The drawn-out sale of Suncorp's life insurance is finally coming to an end. Street Talk understands Suncorp's board was preparing to meet as early as Friday and a key point on the agenda is its potential divestment of the life insurance unit. Sources close to the discussions said it might not be the outcome Suncorp had initially expected. It is understood Suncorp's advisers at Nomura and Luminis Partners have been negotiating with one party, understood to be Japan's Dai-ichi Life Holdings Inc. It's believed Dai-ichi Life, which has wavered in the process several times over the past year, submitted a workable final offer pegged below the hoped-for $1 billion mark. Whether that meets Suncorp's expectations is another matter. Pulling the sale would be a blow for Suncorp boss Michael Cameron, who called inNomura and Luminis in February last year to help with the strategic review and subsequent auction. The auction has been a protracted affair with bidders on different timetables and dates shifting around.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW):
Just weeks after pulling off the largest retail real estate acquisition ever, the newly created Unibail-RodamcoWestfield is going into property sales mode. The company, created when Sir Frank Lowy sold his international mall empire to French group UnibailRodamco, has primary listings in Amsterdam and Paris and a Chess Depositary -Interest listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The CDIs are held by institutions and small retail investors and have a market capitalisation of about $40.16 billion. The newly created mall giant is under pressure to reduce the debt load it took on to finance its $US15bn ($20.32bn) acquisition of the ASX-listed Westfield, which closed last month, to create a global company with €62bn ($98.23bn) worth of property. The combined portfolio consists of 102 shopping malls, 13 -office properties and 10 convention centres in Europe and the US. Chief executive Christophe Cuvillier said the plan was to sell non-core assets from both the old Unibail-Rodamco portfolio and among the Westfield properties. First, he said, €3bn worth of properties from the old Unibail-Rodamco portfolio of €43bn would be sold. The next step would come later this year, when Unibail had analysed the 35 Westfield malls it purchased. The company would “see what we can sell there”, he said.
(Source: AIMS)
Latest comments