AGL Energy Limited (AGL): AGL Energy says its Victorian LNG import plant may be hit by delays after a decision by the Victorian government to conduct a full environmental assessment for the Crib Point project, which the power giant has revealed may operate beyond its expected 20-year time frame. With the import facility and an associated pipeline to undergo an environmental effects statement — subject to potentially lengthy community submissions and a rigorous assessment process — AGL may struggle with its target of starting imports in the first half of 2020. “It has that risk (of delays) as any study does,” AGL’s interim chief executive Brett Redman told The Australian. “But we recognise the importance of making sure the local community is satisfied that environmental concerns are dealt with.” Reports the Australian Atlas Iron Limited (AGO): Atlas Iron has named Sanjiv Manchanda as chief executive in a board overhaul, replacing Cliff Lawrenson amid an acquisition by billionaire Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting. Manchanda has earlier served as head of project development for Hancock Prospecting. Atlas also appointed Spiro Pappas as its Chairman. The changes in the board come as Hancock Prospecting’s unit Redstone Corporation is in the process of acquiring the junior miner, having secured more than 90 per cent of Atlas shares. Atlas had endorsed a $390 million buyout from Hancock in June.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ): After a painful few years selling off its consumer and commercial businesses in Asia, ANZ is now looking to expand there again, says the bank’s head of institutional banking, Mark Whelan. “We are back in growth mode,” he told The Australian at the bank’s office in Singapore. He said the focus this time would be on institutional customers, the big companies that operated in the region, especially resources, financial services, technology and agribusiness. “We are focusing on key customers who have significant business and trade flows in the AsiaPacific region.” Once it completes its restructuring, including selling off its commercial business in Papua New Guinea, Mr Whelan estimates that this will be down to 8000 to 9000 customers. Reports the Australian Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA): Commonwealth Bank has confirmed Alan Docherty as the bank’s new chief financial officer, after having acted in the role since May. Mr Docherty was installed as acting CFO following the sudden resignation of Rob Jesudason, who left CBA (CBA) to run a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency company. Prior to that, Mr Docherty was CFO of the bank’s institutional banking and markets division and had held senior roles in group finance, group treasury and the business and private bank.
Crown Resorts Ltd (CWN): James Packer’s Crown Resorts group has launched legal action seeking a $100m refund from the tax office for GST on payments to junket operators over the past decade. The Federal Court claims also expose the vast sums Crown has spent to bring largely Chinese high-rollers to its Melbourne and Perth casinos, revealing the group has paid at least $1bn in commissions to junket operators between 2007 and 2015. Crown is not expected to gain any material benefit if it wins the cases, but victory could result in a financial windfall for the government of Victoria, where Crown’s flagship Melbourne casino is located, due to a tax equalisation deal between the states and the commonwealth. If it wins and gets a refund, Crown is expected to have to pay the Victorian and West Australian governments extra state gambling taxes, wiping out any benefit to the company. The cases are on top of an existing income tax stoush already before the courts in which the ATO is seeking $396m from Crown over its aborted purchase of US casino operator Cannery in 2007 using a controversial “double dip” structure that enabled it to claim interest costs both here and in the US. Reports the Australian Fletcher Building Limited (FBU): New Zealand’s Fletcher Building has scrapped its proposed takeover of Steel & Tube Holdings after its sweetened offer was rejected, sending the target’s shares from a four-month high to their steepest fall in two months. The country’s largest builder launched its bid earlier this month but Steel & Tube said it significantly undervalued the company and would take time to clear regulatory hurdles. The enhanced $NZ315.4 million ($288 million) offer, at $NZ1.90 per ordinary share in cash plus a special dividend up to $NZ0.05 per ordinary share upon deal completion, was about 11.8 per cent higher than the previous bid. Auckland-based Fletcher blamed a “lack of support from Steel & Tube’s board to progress the proposal in a timely manner” for their withdrawal of the proposal. Steel & Tube said its advisers’ view was of an intrinsic value between NZ$1.95 and NZ$2.36 per share for the company.
Investa Office Fund (IOF): Canadian group Oxford Properties Group is edging closer to winning the long-running battle for the $3.4 billion Investa Office Fund. The group’s proposal has been firmed up into a bid for the trust, which owns about $4.4bn worth of office towers, and now rival bidder Blackstone has just four business days to match its offer. IOF owns about 20 of the country’s best office assets, including a stake in Sydney’s Deutsche Bank Place. Oxford will pay $5.60 per IOF unit, just ahead of an earlier Blackstone bid, and it also holds a near 20 per cent stake which it bought from sister trust, Investa Commercial Property Fund. IOF said that following four weeks confirmatory due diligence by Oxford, the Canadian group had made its bid binding, and IOF had “determined that it is a Superior Proposal compared to the Blackstone proposal”. IOF has now issued a matching right notice to Blackstone which gives the US firm four business days to match the Oxford deal, which expires on Thursday. Blackstone has the right, but not the obligation, to submit a matching or superior offer. Reports the Australian Michael Hill International Ltd (MHJ): Trade of jewellery retailer Michael Hill has dropped 17.58 per cent to 75c in early trade after announcing a revenue drop late on Friday. The jeweller reported group revenue from continuing operations fell 8.8 per cent for the three months to the end of September, with same store sales down by 11 per cent. In a statement on Friday the retailer said the reduction was partly attributable to “underestimating marketing and promotional activities” required to support a strategic shift away from a reliance on discount-based pricing. During the quarter, gross margins lifted slightly. Three Michael Hill stores opened while three were closed in the quarter.
Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (NEC), AND Fairfax Media Limited (FXJ): Nine has opened the door to job cuts for the first time following completion of a $3.6 billion merger with Fairfax and all but confirmed its lack of interest in retaining the 177-year-old publisher’s rural, regional and agricultural newspapers as part of a radical corporate restructure. The free-to-air television network has also effectively hoisted a for-sale sign over Fairfax’s New Zealand business and outlined plans to make the combined group’s sales teams and back-end functions bear the brunt of a $50 million cost-cutting plan within two years of the media merger. Removing duplication across sales teams and commercial operations will save Nine about $15m, according to a scheme of arrangement between the two companies. Another $15m in savings will be taken from the corporate and divisional support functions on the back of combining two publicly listed companies into one and integrating Nine’s digital business into Fairfax’s Australia Metro Media business, publisher of The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Australian Financial Review. Streamlining technology within both businesses will save an additional $15m. The remaining $5m will be saved through the sharing of lifestyle-orientated content used by overlapping media brands operated by the two companies, including Fairfax’s metro insert Good Weekend magazine and Nine’s digital vertical 9Honey. Fairfax shareholders will get a mix of cash and scrip, including 0.3627 Nine shares and 2.5c for each Fairfax share held, implying a 22 per cent premium to its share price the day before the deal was announced. However, Nine’s share price has now fallen 27 per cent, wiping nearly $600m from the value of the deal. For Fairfax shareholders, the bid is valued at 69.2c a share, compared with 93.9c a share originally. Fairfax shares slumped 13.5 per cent to close at 67c on Friday. Reports the Australian QMS Media Ltd (QMS): Outdoor advertising firm QMS is believed to have submitted a proposal in recent days to acquire parts of the New Zealand broadcaster Mediaworks. It is understood that investment bank Citi is working on the mooted transaction for the Australian listed outdoor advertiser that also has operations in New Zealand, while Moelis is thought to be Mediaworks adviser. Mediaworks was believed to be considering the proposal at the weekend and as of Friday was yet to respond to QMS. The listed QMS is eager to acquire assets after being left out of the recent round of outdoor advertising industry consolidation. First, APN mulled a potential acquisition of QMS, which has a market value of about $325m, early this year before walking away. Then, Here, There and Everywhere’s outdoor advertising division was sold to oOh! Media before JC Decaux acquired Australian listed billboard operator APN Outdoor. Now QMS remains in talks with Hoyts, which is advised by UBS, to buy the Val Morgan cinema advertising business.
Wesfarmers Ltd (WES): Wesfarmers’ Coles retailing arm notched a 5 per cent rise in first-quarter sales, driven by increased activity at its chain of supermarkets. The results are the strongest Australian supermarket comparable sales for 11 quarters, since the second quarter of 2016.The strong performance during the 13 weeks through to September 23 comes as the Australian conglomerate prepares to next month spin off Coles to its shareholders. Wesfarmers (WES) said retail sales for the period totalled $9.84 billion, up from $9.37 billion a year earlier. Supermarket sales were 5.8 per cent higher year-over-year at $7.66 billion, while liquor sales rose 2.1 per cent to $744 million and convenience-store sales were up 2.5 per cent at $1.44 billion. The growth reflected increased “basket size,” transaction numbers and items sold, as well as improvements in Coles’ fresh market share, Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott said. The strong return in Coles sales is perfect timing, as Wesfarmers prepares to demerge Coles in a $20 billion deal that will see Coles shares list on the ASX on November 21. It is also the first sales performance for new Coles boss Steven Cain.
（Source: AIMS）
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ): After a painful few years selling off its consumer and commercial businesses in Asia, ANZ is now looking to expand there again, says the bank’s head of institutional banking, Mark Whelan. “We are back in growth mode,” he told The Australian at the bank’s office in Singapore. He said the focus this time would be on institutional customers, the big companies that operated in the region, especially resources, financial services, technology and agribusiness. “We are focusing on key customers who have significant business and trade flows in the AsiaPacific region.” Once it completes its restructuring, including selling off its commercial business in Papua New Guinea, Mr Whelan estimates that this will be down to 8000 to 9000 customers. Reports the Australian Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA): Commonwealth Bank has confirmed Alan Docherty as the bank’s new chief financial officer, after having acted in the role since May. Mr Docherty was installed as acting CFO following the sudden resignation of Rob Jesudason, who left CBA (CBA) to run a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency company. Prior to that, Mr Docherty was CFO of the bank’s institutional banking and markets division and had held senior roles in group finance, group treasury and the business and private bank.
Crown Resorts Ltd (CWN): James Packer’s Crown Resorts group has launched legal action seeking a $100m refund from the tax office for GST on payments to junket operators over the past decade. The Federal Court claims also expose the vast sums Crown has spent to bring largely Chinese high-rollers to its Melbourne and Perth casinos, revealing the group has paid at least $1bn in commissions to junket operators between 2007 and 2015. Crown is not expected to gain any material benefit if it wins the cases, but victory could result in a financial windfall for the government of Victoria, where Crown’s flagship Melbourne casino is located, due to a tax equalisation deal between the states and the commonwealth. If it wins and gets a refund, Crown is expected to have to pay the Victorian and West Australian governments extra state gambling taxes, wiping out any benefit to the company. The cases are on top of an existing income tax stoush already before the courts in which the ATO is seeking $396m from Crown over its aborted purchase of US casino operator Cannery in 2007 using a controversial “double dip” structure that enabled it to claim interest costs both here and in the US. Reports the Australian Fletcher Building Limited (FBU): New Zealand’s Fletcher Building has scrapped its proposed takeover of Steel & Tube Holdings after its sweetened offer was rejected, sending the target’s shares from a four-month high to their steepest fall in two months. The country’s largest builder launched its bid earlier this month but Steel & Tube said it significantly undervalued the company and would take time to clear regulatory hurdles. The enhanced $NZ315.4 million ($288 million) offer, at $NZ1.90 per ordinary share in cash plus a special dividend up to $NZ0.05 per ordinary share upon deal completion, was about 11.8 per cent higher than the previous bid. Auckland-based Fletcher blamed a “lack of support from Steel & Tube’s board to progress the proposal in a timely manner” for their withdrawal of the proposal. Steel & Tube said its advisers’ view was of an intrinsic value between NZ$1.95 and NZ$2.36 per share for the company.
Investa Office Fund (IOF): Canadian group Oxford Properties Group is edging closer to winning the long-running battle for the $3.4 billion Investa Office Fund. The group’s proposal has been firmed up into a bid for the trust, which owns about $4.4bn worth of office towers, and now rival bidder Blackstone has just four business days to match its offer. IOF owns about 20 of the country’s best office assets, including a stake in Sydney’s Deutsche Bank Place. Oxford will pay $5.60 per IOF unit, just ahead of an earlier Blackstone bid, and it also holds a near 20 per cent stake which it bought from sister trust, Investa Commercial Property Fund. IOF said that following four weeks confirmatory due diligence by Oxford, the Canadian group had made its bid binding, and IOF had “determined that it is a Superior Proposal compared to the Blackstone proposal”. IOF has now issued a matching right notice to Blackstone which gives the US firm four business days to match the Oxford deal, which expires on Thursday. Blackstone has the right, but not the obligation, to submit a matching or superior offer. Reports the Australian Michael Hill International Ltd (MHJ): Trade of jewellery retailer Michael Hill has dropped 17.58 per cent to 75c in early trade after announcing a revenue drop late on Friday. The jeweller reported group revenue from continuing operations fell 8.8 per cent for the three months to the end of September, with same store sales down by 11 per cent. In a statement on Friday the retailer said the reduction was partly attributable to “underestimating marketing and promotional activities” required to support a strategic shift away from a reliance on discount-based pricing. During the quarter, gross margins lifted slightly. Three Michael Hill stores opened while three were closed in the quarter.
Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (NEC), AND Fairfax Media Limited (FXJ): Nine has opened the door to job cuts for the first time following completion of a $3.6 billion merger with Fairfax and all but confirmed its lack of interest in retaining the 177-year-old publisher’s rural, regional and agricultural newspapers as part of a radical corporate restructure. The free-to-air television network has also effectively hoisted a for-sale sign over Fairfax’s New Zealand business and outlined plans to make the combined group’s sales teams and back-end functions bear the brunt of a $50 million cost-cutting plan within two years of the media merger. Removing duplication across sales teams and commercial operations will save Nine about $15m, according to a scheme of arrangement between the two companies. Another $15m in savings will be taken from the corporate and divisional support functions on the back of combining two publicly listed companies into one and integrating Nine’s digital business into Fairfax’s Australia Metro Media business, publisher of The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Australian Financial Review. Streamlining technology within both businesses will save an additional $15m. The remaining $5m will be saved through the sharing of lifestyle-orientated content used by overlapping media brands operated by the two companies, including Fairfax’s metro insert Good Weekend magazine and Nine’s digital vertical 9Honey. Fairfax shareholders will get a mix of cash and scrip, including 0.3627 Nine shares and 2.5c for each Fairfax share held, implying a 22 per cent premium to its share price the day before the deal was announced. However, Nine’s share price has now fallen 27 per cent, wiping nearly $600m from the value of the deal. For Fairfax shareholders, the bid is valued at 69.2c a share, compared with 93.9c a share originally. Fairfax shares slumped 13.5 per cent to close at 67c on Friday. Reports the Australian QMS Media Ltd (QMS): Outdoor advertising firm QMS is believed to have submitted a proposal in recent days to acquire parts of the New Zealand broadcaster Mediaworks. It is understood that investment bank Citi is working on the mooted transaction for the Australian listed outdoor advertiser that also has operations in New Zealand, while Moelis is thought to be Mediaworks adviser. Mediaworks was believed to be considering the proposal at the weekend and as of Friday was yet to respond to QMS. The listed QMS is eager to acquire assets after being left out of the recent round of outdoor advertising industry consolidation. First, APN mulled a potential acquisition of QMS, which has a market value of about $325m, early this year before walking away. Then, Here, There and Everywhere’s outdoor advertising division was sold to oOh! Media before JC Decaux acquired Australian listed billboard operator APN Outdoor. Now QMS remains in talks with Hoyts, which is advised by UBS, to buy the Val Morgan cinema advertising business.
Wesfarmers Ltd (WES): Wesfarmers’ Coles retailing arm notched a 5 per cent rise in first-quarter sales, driven by increased activity at its chain of supermarkets. The results are the strongest Australian supermarket comparable sales for 11 quarters, since the second quarter of 2016.The strong performance during the 13 weeks through to September 23 comes as the Australian conglomerate prepares to next month spin off Coles to its shareholders. Wesfarmers (WES) said retail sales for the period totalled $9.84 billion, up from $9.37 billion a year earlier. Supermarket sales were 5.8 per cent higher year-over-year at $7.66 billion, while liquor sales rose 2.1 per cent to $744 million and convenience-store sales were up 2.5 per cent at $1.44 billion. The growth reflected increased “basket size,” transaction numbers and items sold, as well as improvements in Coles’ fresh market share, Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott said. The strong return in Coles sales is perfect timing, as Wesfarmers prepares to demerge Coles in a $20 billion deal that will see Coles shares list on the ASX on November 21. It is also the first sales performance for new Coles boss Steven Cain.
（Source: AIMS）
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