Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ):
ANZ Bank chief executive Shayne Elliott has reaffirmed that the bank is “ready to lend” but conceded that some people might find it harder to borrow than before because of higher standards based in the law. In an opening statement to a parliamentary economics committee, Mr Elliott said the challenge was to find the right balance of prudence and availability within the regulatory framework. “After a period of perhaps being too cautious, ANZ is easing back towards a sensible equilibrium,” he said. “If we are to serve society, we must support the economy by lending responsibly and that is what we’re aiming to do.” ANZ admitted in February that it hit the brakes too hard last year in home lending in the wake of the banking royal commission, which also uncovered ripoffs by the bank which are now being dealt with by compensation payments.
Cromwell Property Group (CMW):
Cromwell Property Group has drafted in Morgan Stanley, along with Goldman Sachs and law firm Herbert Smith Freehills for its tilt at London-based real estate investment trust RDI. The company announced to the market yesterday morning that it had made an approach to the board of the RDI REIT regarding a transaction. Working for RDI is understood to be JPMorgan out of London. Goldman Sachs has been named as Cromwell’s lead financial adviser, while Morgan Stanley has been named as its financial adviser.
DEXUS Property Group (DXS):
Office property and funds management powerhouse Dexus is poised to buy QIC Global Real Estate’s prized 80 Collins Street complex in central Melbourne, in a deal approaching $1.4 billion in value. Dexus is readying to enter due diligence in what would mark one of the city’s largest ever property sales, which opens the way for the listed group to dominate the precinct in Collins Street, as it also owns a nearby development site. The race for the complex was one of the most fiercely contested in this commercial property cycle and will see the property trade on a yield at around 5 per cent as investors bet that office rents will rise and interest rates will stay low.
Lynas Corporation Limited (LYC):
Lynas has rebuffed a $1.5 billion takeover offer from Wesfarmers, telling the market that it will “not engage” on the terms outlined in the offer for the rare earths miner. The Perth-headquartered conglomerate Wesfamers offered on Tuesday $2.25 for each share in Lynas, the world’s largest rare earths producer outside China. Wesfarmers’ offer, the first major acquisition play from chief executive Rob Scott, has also met with strong opposition from his own shareholders, with almost $1.4 billion wiped from the company’s market capitalisation on Tuesday. The Wesfarmers offer included several conditions, including that Lynas’s operating licences in Malaysia remained in force. Lynas said its board had decided on its response to the offer after consulting with its advisers. It had drawn on its knowledge of stakeholder interests, as well as current market and operating conditions, the company said.
Qantas Airways Limited (QAN):
Tensions between Qantas and Perth Airport have flared again after airline chief Alan Joyce told a business breakfast legal action brought by the airport was holding up a new service to Paris. Mr Joyce said it had always been Qantas’s intention for Perth-Paris to be the next destination off the rank. “We said we would wait for a year after Perth-London opened to see how it performed, to see if we could make money [and] we are at that stage now,” he said. “However we do have to approve new aircraft to do it and unfortunately while we have a legal case going on with the airport, which we do at the moment, it would be inappropriate. I don’t think our shareholders would be happy with us ordering aircraft to invest at an airport where we don’t have certainty about the future and about the charges.”
Suncorp Group Limited (SUN):
Suncorp Group is officially considering its options for smash repairs chain Capital SMART, as revealed by Street Talk. The insurance and banking giant has formally hired boutique firm Luminis Partners to oversee a strategic review for Capital SMART, sources said, which will consider a number of options including selling a majority stake to an offshore acquirer. An internal memo flagging the strategic review was circulated to Capital SMART staff on Tuesday. Sources said Suncorp was seeking a sale multiple of at least 10 times earnings, which would equate to more than $300 million. It formalises something that has been in the works for months - as reported by Street Talk as far back as August last year.
Treasury Wine Estates Limited (TWE):
Supply constraints are looming for high-end red wines from one of Australia's most prestigious regions, with this year's yields from the Barossa Valley grape harvest the lowest in a decade. Treasury Wine Estates, which produces the big-selling Penfolds brand, is one group that sources large amounts of premium grapes from the Barossa. Its flagship Penfolds Grange uses a substantial component from Barossa oldgrowth vineyards, although the company jealously guards the exact make-up, while premium labels such as Penfolds Bin 389 and Bin 28 also rely heavily on Barossa grapes. The top red wines made from the sharply lower 2019 vintage in the Barossa are scheduled to appear in the retail market from 2022, with Grange a year later. Viticulture experts say the harvest, which is in its final stages, could be between 40 per cent and 50 per cent down on last year's Barossa vintage of 78,000 tonnes. However, Treasury is sitting on almost $1.2 billion in luxury wine inventory across the company and has been holding this back in its own cellars as part of a steadier approach to prestige wine sales instituted by chief executive Mike Clarke. The company argues it has a multi-regional sourcing strategy that will help offset the lower intake.
Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC):
The banking industry has stepped up efforts to get regulators and Treasury to free-up requirements on business loans, which could help offset an overly cautious lending landscape and emerging credit squeeze. Speaking on the sidelines of a Sydney conference, Westpac’s business banking boss David Lindberg revealed he was pushing for change and talks on the issue had already taken place with the banks’ industry association, corporate regulator, Treasury and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. “Banks need to make it efficient,” he told The Australian of the sometimes arduous process of approving a business loan in the wake of the Hayne royal commission. “The banks have to do better than that.”
(Source: AIMS)
ANZ Bank chief executive Shayne Elliott has reaffirmed that the bank is “ready to lend” but conceded that some people might find it harder to borrow than before because of higher standards based in the law. In an opening statement to a parliamentary economics committee, Mr Elliott said the challenge was to find the right balance of prudence and availability within the regulatory framework. “After a period of perhaps being too cautious, ANZ is easing back towards a sensible equilibrium,” he said. “If we are to serve society, we must support the economy by lending responsibly and that is what we’re aiming to do.” ANZ admitted in February that it hit the brakes too hard last year in home lending in the wake of the banking royal commission, which also uncovered ripoffs by the bank which are now being dealt with by compensation payments.
Cromwell Property Group (CMW):
Cromwell Property Group has drafted in Morgan Stanley, along with Goldman Sachs and law firm Herbert Smith Freehills for its tilt at London-based real estate investment trust RDI. The company announced to the market yesterday morning that it had made an approach to the board of the RDI REIT regarding a transaction. Working for RDI is understood to be JPMorgan out of London. Goldman Sachs has been named as Cromwell’s lead financial adviser, while Morgan Stanley has been named as its financial adviser.
DEXUS Property Group (DXS):
Office property and funds management powerhouse Dexus is poised to buy QIC Global Real Estate’s prized 80 Collins Street complex in central Melbourne, in a deal approaching $1.4 billion in value. Dexus is readying to enter due diligence in what would mark one of the city’s largest ever property sales, which opens the way for the listed group to dominate the precinct in Collins Street, as it also owns a nearby development site. The race for the complex was one of the most fiercely contested in this commercial property cycle and will see the property trade on a yield at around 5 per cent as investors bet that office rents will rise and interest rates will stay low.
Lynas Corporation Limited (LYC):
Lynas has rebuffed a $1.5 billion takeover offer from Wesfarmers, telling the market that it will “not engage” on the terms outlined in the offer for the rare earths miner. The Perth-headquartered conglomerate Wesfamers offered on Tuesday $2.25 for each share in Lynas, the world’s largest rare earths producer outside China. Wesfarmers’ offer, the first major acquisition play from chief executive Rob Scott, has also met with strong opposition from his own shareholders, with almost $1.4 billion wiped from the company’s market capitalisation on Tuesday. The Wesfarmers offer included several conditions, including that Lynas’s operating licences in Malaysia remained in force. Lynas said its board had decided on its response to the offer after consulting with its advisers. It had drawn on its knowledge of stakeholder interests, as well as current market and operating conditions, the company said.
Qantas Airways Limited (QAN):
Tensions between Qantas and Perth Airport have flared again after airline chief Alan Joyce told a business breakfast legal action brought by the airport was holding up a new service to Paris. Mr Joyce said it had always been Qantas’s intention for Perth-Paris to be the next destination off the rank. “We said we would wait for a year after Perth-London opened to see how it performed, to see if we could make money [and] we are at that stage now,” he said. “However we do have to approve new aircraft to do it and unfortunately while we have a legal case going on with the airport, which we do at the moment, it would be inappropriate. I don’t think our shareholders would be happy with us ordering aircraft to invest at an airport where we don’t have certainty about the future and about the charges.”
Suncorp Group Limited (SUN):
Suncorp Group is officially considering its options for smash repairs chain Capital SMART, as revealed by Street Talk. The insurance and banking giant has formally hired boutique firm Luminis Partners to oversee a strategic review for Capital SMART, sources said, which will consider a number of options including selling a majority stake to an offshore acquirer. An internal memo flagging the strategic review was circulated to Capital SMART staff on Tuesday. Sources said Suncorp was seeking a sale multiple of at least 10 times earnings, which would equate to more than $300 million. It formalises something that has been in the works for months - as reported by Street Talk as far back as August last year.
Treasury Wine Estates Limited (TWE):
Supply constraints are looming for high-end red wines from one of Australia's most prestigious regions, with this year's yields from the Barossa Valley grape harvest the lowest in a decade. Treasury Wine Estates, which produces the big-selling Penfolds brand, is one group that sources large amounts of premium grapes from the Barossa. Its flagship Penfolds Grange uses a substantial component from Barossa oldgrowth vineyards, although the company jealously guards the exact make-up, while premium labels such as Penfolds Bin 389 and Bin 28 also rely heavily on Barossa grapes. The top red wines made from the sharply lower 2019 vintage in the Barossa are scheduled to appear in the retail market from 2022, with Grange a year later. Viticulture experts say the harvest, which is in its final stages, could be between 40 per cent and 50 per cent down on last year's Barossa vintage of 78,000 tonnes. However, Treasury is sitting on almost $1.2 billion in luxury wine inventory across the company and has been holding this back in its own cellars as part of a steadier approach to prestige wine sales instituted by chief executive Mike Clarke. The company argues it has a multi-regional sourcing strategy that will help offset the lower intake.
Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC):
The banking industry has stepped up efforts to get regulators and Treasury to free-up requirements on business loans, which could help offset an overly cautious lending landscape and emerging credit squeeze. Speaking on the sidelines of a Sydney conference, Westpac’s business banking boss David Lindberg revealed he was pushing for change and talks on the issue had already taken place with the banks’ industry association, corporate regulator, Treasury and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. “Banks need to make it efficient,” he told The Australian of the sometimes arduous process of approving a business loan in the wake of the Hayne royal commission. “The banks have to do better than that.”
(Source: AIMS)
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