Appen Ltd (APX):
Appen to set to raise $285 million at $21.50 per share through Citi to buy San Fransisco-based artificial intelligence business Figure Eight. In a note to the market this morning, Appen described Figure Eight as a “best-in-class machine learning software platform which uses highly automated annotation tools to transform unstructured text, image, audio and video data into customised high quality artificial intelligence training data”. This investment in automation will allow Appen to take on more projects and complete them at a lower cost. The deal includes upfront consideration of $US175 million, as well as a earn-out capped at $US125 million payable in March 2020. Figure Eight’s revenue for FY18 was $42 million, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 50pc since FY15. Appen shares are currently in a trading halt and last traded at $24.37.
Newcrest Mining Limited (NCM):
Newcrest Mining is set to acquire a 70 per cent joint-venture interest in British Columbian copper-gold mine Red Chris, in a deal with TSX-listed Imperial Metals for $US806.5 million ($1.15bn). Announcing the deal to the market this morning, Newcrest said it was part of its measured entry into North America and aligns with its strategic goals of a global portfolio of Tier 1 orebodies. “We believe we can bring our unique technical capabilities to unlock the full value potential of this orebody in one of the premier gold districts in the world. We have identified a clear pathway to potentially turn this orebody into a Tier 1 operation,” chief Sandeep Biswas told the market. He said the geology was similar to its Cadia mines in Australia and would benefit from the use of similar techniques for exploration and open pit mining. Under the joint venture, Newcrest will retain operatorship of the mine while the two parties will contribute to exploration and development costs in a 70/30 basis.
Rio Tinto Limited (RIO):
Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques says a new internal start-up team that will work across the group's operations will help shape how the resources giant looks in the decades to come. The team of six people, who will be based in Brisbane, will officially open for business on Monday. They will be able to roam across Rio's operations to make improvements, with Mr Jacques saying the company is open to looking to all possibilities about where it might head in the future. “The logic is to say if I ask the traditional people to give me what Rio Tinto should look like in 10 years or 20 years from now we [are] going to get the wrong answer. So what we said was, why don't we find five or six people from all over the company to say give us some indication of what a successful Rio Tinto should like 20 years from now.
AMP Limited (AMP):
Lawyer for AMP, Clayton Utz has surrended its internal files notes to the corporate watchdog after losing a court battle to keep them private under legal professional privilege. The notes were from the firm’s interviews with current and former employees and officers of AMP, who were interviewed in connection with the law firms report to AMP in October 2017 regarding fees for no service. AMP had witheld the notes from ASIC on the grounds they were subject to legal privilege however, last week agreed to pay ASIC’s costs, hand over the documents and consent to the dismissal of proceedings. “ASIC is determined to take enforcement action against the major banks and financial service providers and to use all legal powers necessary to investigate the significant issue of fees for no service,” ASIC Deputy Chair Daniel Crennan QC said. “Entities should take seriously their obligations under statutory notices issued by ASIC, including producing documents in accordance with the specified timeframe and not preventing the disclosure of documents to ASIC by making inappropriate LPP claims.”
Bingo Industries Ltd (BIN):
Bingo Industries could fetch between $60 million and $70 million for its big Banksmeadow collections facility in Sydney it is being forced to sell, and can channel some of the customers it stands to lose into a nearby facility joining the stable with its Dial-A-Dump acquisition. Bingo, which is being forced by the competition regulator to divest the Banksmeadow site, is undertaking the sale process internally, without an investment bank. A 55-page undertaking shows Bingo must "share a list of potential purchasers" with the ACCC and must furnish any draft sale agreement to the regulator with details of proposed transition arrangements. The ACCC must be satisfied the proposed purchaser is independent of Bingo and "of good financial standing". Stockbrokers believe almost universally that Dial-A-Dump is a good acquisition for Bingo, especially after a profit downgrade of up to 20 per centby Bingo stunned investors on February 18.
Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG):
The corporate regulator has lashed Australia’s biggest financial institutions for their delayed response in addressing feefor-no-service failures, what has hit Macquarie shares hardest in afternoon trade. Macquarie shares dropped by 2 per cent to $125.92 - a two-week low - after ASIC said the bank had proposed to use a lower interest rate for refunds to customers. “Macquarie has proposed using the higher of either the Macquarie Cash Management Account rate or the RBA cash rate. This is inconsistent with the guidance in RG256, which states that RBA cash rate plus 6pc is appropriate,” the regulator said. MQG shares last down 1.94pc to $126 while the rest of the major banks are trading between a 0.14pc decline and 0.15pc rise. AMP shares are 0.65pc higher.
Inghams Group Ltd (ING); TPG Telecom Ltd (TPM):
Australia's largest poultry processor Ingham's Group finds itself in the spotlight with short interest at 17.2 per cent as speculation persists that major shareholder TPG is eyeing an exit for its 32 per cent stake. The company is also battling rising feed costs and some uncertainty over the terms around a supply contract re-negotiation with supermarket giant Woolworths for a contract expiring in 2021. Ingham's dipped by 14 per cent from $4.71 on February 6 to $4.04 on February 28 after it released its first-half results, and has since made some gains to around $4.31. A small share buyback is helping, with Ingham's on Monday telling the ASX that thus far it had bought back $6.9 million of its shares since December, with a further $42.3 million to go.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (TLS):
Telstra shored up its overwhelming dominance of the mobile market in the first half of financial year 2019, adding 239,000 customers and increasing it share of the postpaid mobile market to almost 50 per cent, JPMorgan research shows. The result was more than double analyst expectations, and follows the success of its new low-cost mobile brand, Belong, which accounted for half of the new accounts. It allowed Telstra to boost its postpaid market share by 0.2 of a percentage point to 47.4 per cent, bucking a recent downward trend. The unexpected surge was not just limited to Telstra, JPMorgan said, noting that 483,000 new customers set up new plans, 150,000 more than what the investment bank analyst Eric Pan had predicted. More than 40 per cent of the new accounts were with Telstra. Also unexpected was a massive fall in mobile broadband customers. Mobile broadband refers to mobile hotspots like dongles. It does not include fixed wireless, the technology that uses 4G or 5G mobile networks to provide a home broadband alternative to fixed line broadband.
(Source: AIMS)
Appen to set to raise $285 million at $21.50 per share through Citi to buy San Fransisco-based artificial intelligence business Figure Eight. In a note to the market this morning, Appen described Figure Eight as a “best-in-class machine learning software platform which uses highly automated annotation tools to transform unstructured text, image, audio and video data into customised high quality artificial intelligence training data”. This investment in automation will allow Appen to take on more projects and complete them at a lower cost. The deal includes upfront consideration of $US175 million, as well as a earn-out capped at $US125 million payable in March 2020. Figure Eight’s revenue for FY18 was $42 million, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 50pc since FY15. Appen shares are currently in a trading halt and last traded at $24.37.
Newcrest Mining Limited (NCM):
Newcrest Mining is set to acquire a 70 per cent joint-venture interest in British Columbian copper-gold mine Red Chris, in a deal with TSX-listed Imperial Metals for $US806.5 million ($1.15bn). Announcing the deal to the market this morning, Newcrest said it was part of its measured entry into North America and aligns with its strategic goals of a global portfolio of Tier 1 orebodies. “We believe we can bring our unique technical capabilities to unlock the full value potential of this orebody in one of the premier gold districts in the world. We have identified a clear pathway to potentially turn this orebody into a Tier 1 operation,” chief Sandeep Biswas told the market. He said the geology was similar to its Cadia mines in Australia and would benefit from the use of similar techniques for exploration and open pit mining. Under the joint venture, Newcrest will retain operatorship of the mine while the two parties will contribute to exploration and development costs in a 70/30 basis.
Rio Tinto Limited (RIO):
Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques says a new internal start-up team that will work across the group's operations will help shape how the resources giant looks in the decades to come. The team of six people, who will be based in Brisbane, will officially open for business on Monday. They will be able to roam across Rio's operations to make improvements, with Mr Jacques saying the company is open to looking to all possibilities about where it might head in the future. “The logic is to say if I ask the traditional people to give me what Rio Tinto should look like in 10 years or 20 years from now we [are] going to get the wrong answer. So what we said was, why don't we find five or six people from all over the company to say give us some indication of what a successful Rio Tinto should like 20 years from now.
AMP Limited (AMP):
Lawyer for AMP, Clayton Utz has surrended its internal files notes to the corporate watchdog after losing a court battle to keep them private under legal professional privilege. The notes were from the firm’s interviews with current and former employees and officers of AMP, who were interviewed in connection with the law firms report to AMP in October 2017 regarding fees for no service. AMP had witheld the notes from ASIC on the grounds they were subject to legal privilege however, last week agreed to pay ASIC’s costs, hand over the documents and consent to the dismissal of proceedings. “ASIC is determined to take enforcement action against the major banks and financial service providers and to use all legal powers necessary to investigate the significant issue of fees for no service,” ASIC Deputy Chair Daniel Crennan QC said. “Entities should take seriously their obligations under statutory notices issued by ASIC, including producing documents in accordance with the specified timeframe and not preventing the disclosure of documents to ASIC by making inappropriate LPP claims.”
Bingo Industries Ltd (BIN):
Bingo Industries could fetch between $60 million and $70 million for its big Banksmeadow collections facility in Sydney it is being forced to sell, and can channel some of the customers it stands to lose into a nearby facility joining the stable with its Dial-A-Dump acquisition. Bingo, which is being forced by the competition regulator to divest the Banksmeadow site, is undertaking the sale process internally, without an investment bank. A 55-page undertaking shows Bingo must "share a list of potential purchasers" with the ACCC and must furnish any draft sale agreement to the regulator with details of proposed transition arrangements. The ACCC must be satisfied the proposed purchaser is independent of Bingo and "of good financial standing". Stockbrokers believe almost universally that Dial-A-Dump is a good acquisition for Bingo, especially after a profit downgrade of up to 20 per centby Bingo stunned investors on February 18.
Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG):
The corporate regulator has lashed Australia’s biggest financial institutions for their delayed response in addressing feefor-no-service failures, what has hit Macquarie shares hardest in afternoon trade. Macquarie shares dropped by 2 per cent to $125.92 - a two-week low - after ASIC said the bank had proposed to use a lower interest rate for refunds to customers. “Macquarie has proposed using the higher of either the Macquarie Cash Management Account rate or the RBA cash rate. This is inconsistent with the guidance in RG256, which states that RBA cash rate plus 6pc is appropriate,” the regulator said. MQG shares last down 1.94pc to $126 while the rest of the major banks are trading between a 0.14pc decline and 0.15pc rise. AMP shares are 0.65pc higher.
Inghams Group Ltd (ING); TPG Telecom Ltd (TPM):
Australia's largest poultry processor Ingham's Group finds itself in the spotlight with short interest at 17.2 per cent as speculation persists that major shareholder TPG is eyeing an exit for its 32 per cent stake. The company is also battling rising feed costs and some uncertainty over the terms around a supply contract re-negotiation with supermarket giant Woolworths for a contract expiring in 2021. Ingham's dipped by 14 per cent from $4.71 on February 6 to $4.04 on February 28 after it released its first-half results, and has since made some gains to around $4.31. A small share buyback is helping, with Ingham's on Monday telling the ASX that thus far it had bought back $6.9 million of its shares since December, with a further $42.3 million to go.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (TLS):
Telstra shored up its overwhelming dominance of the mobile market in the first half of financial year 2019, adding 239,000 customers and increasing it share of the postpaid mobile market to almost 50 per cent, JPMorgan research shows. The result was more than double analyst expectations, and follows the success of its new low-cost mobile brand, Belong, which accounted for half of the new accounts. It allowed Telstra to boost its postpaid market share by 0.2 of a percentage point to 47.4 per cent, bucking a recent downward trend. The unexpected surge was not just limited to Telstra, JPMorgan said, noting that 483,000 new customers set up new plans, 150,000 more than what the investment bank analyst Eric Pan had predicted. More than 40 per cent of the new accounts were with Telstra. Also unexpected was a massive fall in mobile broadband customers. Mobile broadband refers to mobile hotspots like dongles. It does not include fixed wireless, the technology that uses 4G or 5G mobile networks to provide a home broadband alternative to fixed line broadband.
(Source: AIMS)
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