Crown Resorts Ltd (CWN):
James Packer's Crown Resorts suffered a share price plunge of almost 10 per cent in early trading on Wednesday after Las Vegas suitor Wynn Resorts ''terminated'' talks with the Australia's biggest casino group over a potential $10 billion buyout. Crown shares dropped as much as 10 per cent first up, and then steadied at $12.85, down 8.5 per cent. It came after the stock jumped almost 20 per cent on Tuesday after the implied offer of $14.75 per share was revealed publicly. Crown made a brief statement to the ASX on Wednesday which added to the intrigue surrounding the abrupt termination of the talks in a statement by Wynn in the US overnight. Some market players believe the Wynn statement may be a tactical ploy and that some form of deal may eventually happen, and that other suitors may also have a close look now that 46.1 per cent shareholder James Packer has effectively declared that Crown is for sale at the right price. There had been weeks of talks behind the scenes by the two groups before the proposal became public after being revealed by The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk column.
Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (DMP):
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises is taking a bigger slice of the European pizza market by buying the master franchise rights for the Domino’s Pizza brand in Denmark. Domino's said on Wednesday it had agreed to pay €2.5 million ($4.0 million) to acquire the companyowned stores and other assets of Domino’s Pizza Scandinavia, which went into administration early last month and has ceased trading. Domino's has signed a master franchise agreement in Denmark with Domino’s Pizza Inc for up to 25 years, comprising an initial term of 15 years with an option to renew for a further 10 years. Australia's largest pizza franchisor expects to restart operations in Denmark with about 20 stores within the next year, using its expertise to reinvigorate the Domino's business. Domino's said the new business would take "some time" to contribute to earnings, and re-establishing operations would require additional investment in store equipment, IT systems and other central support.
Flinders Mines Ltd (FMS):
Minority shareholders in iron ore hopeful Flinders Mines have scored an unlikely win over New Zealand’s billionaire Todd family, with Flinders this morning abandoning its contentious Todd-backed delisting plans. The delisting of Flinders (FMS), first announced late last year, had looked like a fait accompli given the support of the Todd family, which owns a 55.6 per cent stake in the company. But the move has sparked a fierce resistance from Flinders’ thousands of smaller shareholders, who have spent the past four months bombarding regulators, politicians and the media with criticism of the plan. In a brief statement to the ASX this morning, Flinders executive director David McAdam said the company had resolved to withdraw its delisting application “given the views expressed by shareholders”. “The company will now reconsider its future strategy and provide an update to shareholders in due course,” Mr McAdam said.
IOOF Holdings Ltd (IFL):
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has joined the major banks in retreating from financial advice, agreeing to sell its planning client book and servicing rights to a unit of embattled wealth firm IOOF. The parties disclosed the arrangements in a joint statement, with IOOF saying its Bridges Financial Services division would acquire the Bendigo planning book for $3 million plus further payments made a year after deal completion. The additional payments are subject to “maintaining an agreed ongoing service client retention rate”. The transaction may raise eyebrows among clients and Bendigo investors as IOOF is the subject of court action and licence conditions imposed by the banking regulator. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is seeking banning orders against three existing IOOF executives, its former chief executive Chris Kelaher and former chairman George Venardos from running a superannuation company. Those issues have prompted ANZ Bank to put on hold plans to divest its pensions and investments business to IOOF, despite already selling its financial advisers and deal groups to the wealth company. The Bendigo deal with IOOF puts in place a referral arrangement for the bank’s customers.
Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO):
Rio Tinto faces another iron ore production hit as the latest fire at its Pilbara operations threatens to add to shortages in the global market that have already caused a spike in prices. Confirmation of the second fire in less than four months at Rio operations came as the company revealed it had paid $6.5 billion ($US4.8 billion) in taxes and royalties in Australia in 2018, up from $4.9 billion in the previous year. Rio's tax contribution from iron ore earnings is expected to soar again this year on the back of skyrocketing iron ore prices, even allowing for the production bleeding in the Pilbara. The company said on Tuesday that a screening plant at its East Intercourse Island port operations remained closed after a fire which broke out on Saturday. Emergency services were called to deal with the blaze and Rio said the cause was under investigation.
Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW):
Food and liquor retailer Woolworths is issuing about $400 million in ‘green’ bonds to fund initiatives such as installing solar panels and LED lighting in supermarkets. Woolworths is the first retailer in Australia to issue green bonds and the first supermarket retailer in the world to issue green bonds certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative, a London-based organisation mobilising the bond market to fund climate change solutions. Green bonds are fixed-income investments where the proceeds are used to fund low-carbon projects and assets such as renewable energy, public transport and energy-efficient buildings. They are becoming increasingly popular with investors seeking green or socially responsible options for their funds. Woolworths is in the middle of a roadshow to sell the green bonds and expects to complete the issue at the end of this week, raising about $400 million. Woolworths chief financial officer David Marr said the green bonds would replace $500 million in corporate bonds which matured last month and had received strong interest from investors in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney and Melbourne seeking more than just a financial return.
(Source: AIMS)
James Packer's Crown Resorts suffered a share price plunge of almost 10 per cent in early trading on Wednesday after Las Vegas suitor Wynn Resorts ''terminated'' talks with the Australia's biggest casino group over a potential $10 billion buyout. Crown shares dropped as much as 10 per cent first up, and then steadied at $12.85, down 8.5 per cent. It came after the stock jumped almost 20 per cent on Tuesday after the implied offer of $14.75 per share was revealed publicly. Crown made a brief statement to the ASX on Wednesday which added to the intrigue surrounding the abrupt termination of the talks in a statement by Wynn in the US overnight. Some market players believe the Wynn statement may be a tactical ploy and that some form of deal may eventually happen, and that other suitors may also have a close look now that 46.1 per cent shareholder James Packer has effectively declared that Crown is for sale at the right price. There had been weeks of talks behind the scenes by the two groups before the proposal became public after being revealed by The Australian Financial Review's Street Talk column.
Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (DMP):
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises is taking a bigger slice of the European pizza market by buying the master franchise rights for the Domino’s Pizza brand in Denmark. Domino's said on Wednesday it had agreed to pay €2.5 million ($4.0 million) to acquire the companyowned stores and other assets of Domino’s Pizza Scandinavia, which went into administration early last month and has ceased trading. Domino's has signed a master franchise agreement in Denmark with Domino’s Pizza Inc for up to 25 years, comprising an initial term of 15 years with an option to renew for a further 10 years. Australia's largest pizza franchisor expects to restart operations in Denmark with about 20 stores within the next year, using its expertise to reinvigorate the Domino's business. Domino's said the new business would take "some time" to contribute to earnings, and re-establishing operations would require additional investment in store equipment, IT systems and other central support.
Flinders Mines Ltd (FMS):
Minority shareholders in iron ore hopeful Flinders Mines have scored an unlikely win over New Zealand’s billionaire Todd family, with Flinders this morning abandoning its contentious Todd-backed delisting plans. The delisting of Flinders (FMS), first announced late last year, had looked like a fait accompli given the support of the Todd family, which owns a 55.6 per cent stake in the company. But the move has sparked a fierce resistance from Flinders’ thousands of smaller shareholders, who have spent the past four months bombarding regulators, politicians and the media with criticism of the plan. In a brief statement to the ASX this morning, Flinders executive director David McAdam said the company had resolved to withdraw its delisting application “given the views expressed by shareholders”. “The company will now reconsider its future strategy and provide an update to shareholders in due course,” Mr McAdam said.
IOOF Holdings Ltd (IFL):
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has joined the major banks in retreating from financial advice, agreeing to sell its planning client book and servicing rights to a unit of embattled wealth firm IOOF. The parties disclosed the arrangements in a joint statement, with IOOF saying its Bridges Financial Services division would acquire the Bendigo planning book for $3 million plus further payments made a year after deal completion. The additional payments are subject to “maintaining an agreed ongoing service client retention rate”. The transaction may raise eyebrows among clients and Bendigo investors as IOOF is the subject of court action and licence conditions imposed by the banking regulator. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is seeking banning orders against three existing IOOF executives, its former chief executive Chris Kelaher and former chairman George Venardos from running a superannuation company. Those issues have prompted ANZ Bank to put on hold plans to divest its pensions and investments business to IOOF, despite already selling its financial advisers and deal groups to the wealth company. The Bendigo deal with IOOF puts in place a referral arrangement for the bank’s customers.
Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO):
Rio Tinto faces another iron ore production hit as the latest fire at its Pilbara operations threatens to add to shortages in the global market that have already caused a spike in prices. Confirmation of the second fire in less than four months at Rio operations came as the company revealed it had paid $6.5 billion ($US4.8 billion) in taxes and royalties in Australia in 2018, up from $4.9 billion in the previous year. Rio's tax contribution from iron ore earnings is expected to soar again this year on the back of skyrocketing iron ore prices, even allowing for the production bleeding in the Pilbara. The company said on Tuesday that a screening plant at its East Intercourse Island port operations remained closed after a fire which broke out on Saturday. Emergency services were called to deal with the blaze and Rio said the cause was under investigation.
Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW):
Food and liquor retailer Woolworths is issuing about $400 million in ‘green’ bonds to fund initiatives such as installing solar panels and LED lighting in supermarkets. Woolworths is the first retailer in Australia to issue green bonds and the first supermarket retailer in the world to issue green bonds certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative, a London-based organisation mobilising the bond market to fund climate change solutions. Green bonds are fixed-income investments where the proceeds are used to fund low-carbon projects and assets such as renewable energy, public transport and energy-efficient buildings. They are becoming increasingly popular with investors seeking green or socially responsible options for their funds. Woolworths is in the middle of a roadshow to sell the green bonds and expects to complete the issue at the end of this week, raising about $400 million. Woolworths chief financial officer David Marr said the green bonds would replace $500 million in corporate bonds which matured last month and had received strong interest from investors in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney and Melbourne seeking more than just a financial return.
(Source: AIMS)
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