K64 Auxiliary Finance and Insurance Services

Australian M&A fires up as global uncertainty weighs on executives

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 9-Nov-15

A global survey of senior executives by EY Oceania shows that more than 50 per cent of Australian companies intend to pursue acquisitions in the next 12 months, compared with 44 per cent in the previous six-monthly survey. Mergers and acquisitions activity in Australia is particularly strong in sectors such as food services, consumer retailing and life sciences. Meanwhile, 64 per cent of respondents in Australia and New Zealand, plus 74 per cent globally, expect equity valuations to remain stable.

CORPORATES
ERNST AND YOUNG, WOODSIDE PARK STUD PTY LTD, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, BROOKFIELD INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS LP, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Rate cut nerves push ASX lower for sixth day

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Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 3-Nov-15

The S&P/ASX 200 index declined 1.4 per cent to 5,165.8 on 2 November 2015. It was the sixth straight day of losses for the index. The banks were particularly weak, with National Australia Bank losing 1.7 per cent to $A29.62, the Commonwealth Bank declining 2.1 per cent to $A75.10 and ANZ shedding 2.3 per cent to $A26.85.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, QUADRANT ENERGY PTY LTD

Market flags as rate cuts lose potency

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Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 3-Nov-15

The Australian sharemarket had another bad day on 2 November 2015, with the S&P/ASX200 index falling to 5,165.8 points. The index was close to 6,000 points in April. The charts suggest that the index could decline to below 5,100. Risks include doubts about China’s manufacturing sector; a likely increase in the GST, and a possible drought in Queensland.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

The winds of change will hit companies

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Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Age – Page: 27 : 30-Oct-15

Morgan Stanley forecasts that the El Nino weather phenomenon will benefit Australian-listed companies across a range of sectors during the 2015-16 summer. Coca-Cola Amatil, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Origin Energy and AGL Energy are among the companies that are tipped to enjoy stronger revenue due to the warmer weather associated with El Nino. Mining companies and insurers are also expected to benefit, but wheat, grain and beef producers in particular are likely to be adversely affected.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, GRAINCORP LIMITED – ASX GNC

Yield reputation lives, even as growth slows

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Original article by Vesna Poljak, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 29-Oct-15

Australia’s top listed companies paid a total of $A79bn in dividends for the 2014-15 financial year. Brokers now expect the total payout for 2015-16 to be $A81bn, compared with a consensus forecast of $A85bn following the August 2015 reporting season. Dividend payouts in the banking sector remain strong, but a number of companies in the energy sector have reduced their dividends in the wake of the downturn in the crude oil price.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PARK STUD PTY LTD, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, BANK OF JAPAN

Link shares jump 11.5pc on ASX debut

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 28-Oct-15

Shares in superannuation administration services provider Link Group were issued at $A6.37 apiece in a $A946.5m IPO. The stock ended its first day of trading 11.5 per cent higher at $A7.05, after listing at $A7.10. Investors Mutual’s Anton Tagliaferro says Link was attractive to investors due to the limited growth opportunities in the domestic market at present. Meanwhile, Link CEO John McMurtrie has flagged offshore acquisitions to expand its footprint beyond Australia and New Zealand.

CORPORATES
LINK ADMINISTRATION HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LNK, INVESTORS MUTUAL LIMITED, PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, INTERMEDIATE CAPITAL GROUP PLC, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, SUPERPARTNERS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, PILLAR ADMINISTRATION, COLLINS FOODS LIMITED – ASX CKF, KFC, SIZZLER RESTAURANTS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMP LIFE LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CITICORP GROUP PTY LTD, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Global mergers and acquisitions on track for best year ever

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Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 27-Oct-15

Citigroup notes that some $US3.1trn worth of mergers and acquisitions have been announced globally so far in 2015. Citigroup believes there is potential for 2015 to eclipse 2007 as the biggest calendar year on record in terms of global M&A activity. The Citigroup reports notes that M&A activity is 38 per cent higher than at the same time in 2014, including year-on-year growth of 54 per cent in Asia, central Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV SA/NV, SABMILLER PLC, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, BG GROUP PLC, HJ HEINZ COMPANY, KRAFT FOODS INCORPORATED, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, DRILLSEARCH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX DLS, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, SCEPTER PARTNERS, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Some growth stocks overpriced, warns UBS

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 27-Oct-15

TPG Telecom and Domino’s Pizza Enterprises are among the companies that have been added to UBS Australia’s list of "quality growth" stocks. The stocks on this list delivered a total return of 21.5 per cent in the year to 14 October 2015, compared with a return of 10.2 per cent for the S&P/ASX 100 ex-resources index. David Cassidy of UBS notes that stocks on the firm’s list have a median price-earnings ratio of 20.5 times.

CORPORATES
UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, DULUXGROUP LIMITED – ASX DLX, CARSALES.COM LIMITED – ASX CAR, RESMED INCORPORATED – ASX RMD, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, MACQUARIE WEALTH MANAGEMENT, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, SONIC HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX SHL, COVER-MORE GROUP LIMITED – ASX CVO, BREVILLE GROUP LIMITED – ASX BRG, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 100 INDEX

Cross-border M&A to climb, law firm says

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 15-Oct-15

A Baker & McKenzie report shows that the value of cross-border mergers and acquisitions rose by 10 per cent to US375bn ($A518bn) in the September 2015 quarter. However, the number of transactions fell by 16 per cent year-on-year. Baker & McKenzie partner David Holland expects an increase in the proportion of M&A deals that are cross-border transactions. Meanwhile, data from Dealogic shows that some $US88.9bn worth of M&A deals involving Australian companies have been announced so far in 2015.

CORPORATES
BAKER AND McKENZIE, DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, VEDA GROUP LIMITED – ASX VED, DELL COMPUTER CORPORATION, EMC CORPORATION, ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV SA/NV, SABMILLER PLC, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, MYOB GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYO, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Richest families make second fortunes

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 8-Oct-15

The Smorgon family has topped the 2015 "BRW Rich Families List", with estimated wealth of $A2.74bn. The combined fortunes of the 50 families on the 2015 list is $A41.18bn, compared with $A40.1bn in 2014. Many families on the list are expanding into the property development sector, after making their fortunes in other industries.

CORPORATES
BAIADA POULTRY PTY LTD, STEGGLES HOLDINGS LIMITED, LILYDALE, SWISSE WELLNESS PTY LTD, BIOSTIME INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED, INTRAPAC PROJECTS PTY LTD, LEWIS LAND CORPORATION LIMITED, HARD YAKKA, BEST AND LESS PTY LTD, BANNA PROPERTY PTY LTD