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Fairfax goes it alone as investors back Domain split

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 21 : 3-Nov-17

The majority of Fairfax shareholders at its 2017 annual meeting voted in favour of demerging the Domain property listings business. Fairfax will retain a 60 per cent stake in Domain, while shareholders will receive one share in Domain for every 10 Fairfax shares that they own. Meanwhile, Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood has stressed that the company’s print newspapers will continue to be published for some time, while chairman Nick Falloon indicated that Fairfax would be open to merger deals following the relaxation of cross-media ownership laws.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TRONC INCORPORATED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Amazon threat and opportunity

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Original article by Simon Evans, Michael Bailey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 12 : 2-Nov-17

US-based e-commerce giant Amazon is widely tipped to enter the Australian market before the end of 2017. Delegates at a retail summit on 1 November were told that the arrival of a new competitor will be good for Australian retailers, with Launa Inman arguing that it will force them to improve their online offerings. Small Business & Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell says Amazon will face close scrutiny to ensure that its contracts are fair, while Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman stressed the need to ensure that Amazon complies with Australia’s penalty rates regime.

CORPORATES
AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, BILLABONG INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX BBG, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THEICONIC.COM.AU

News Corp value down 50pc since spin-off four years ago

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 2-Nov-17

Morgan Stanley estimates that News Corporation is now valued at $US3.7bn, compared with $US7.3bn in 2013 when Rupert Murdoch’s media empire was demerged. News Corp shares have shed 17 per cent since the demerger, although the loss would have been much greater if it did not hold a 62 per cent stake in the strongly-performing Australian property listings group REA. Morgan Stanley also notes that News Corp shares are trading at a 15 per cent discount to the combined value of its businesses.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS, HARPERCOLLINS, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

More mergers from media changes: ACCC

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 19 : 1-Nov-17

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims expects cross-media ownership law reforms to prompt further consolidation in the media sector. However, he has told a Communications & Media Law Association event that any such merger proposals must ensure that media diversity is maintained. He added that media diversity is already being affected by the growing market power of digital giants Google and Facebook.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA LAW ASSOCIATION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Fairfax clean bowled by Gayle force victory

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian – Page: 5 : 31-Oct-17

Fairfax Media has advised that it may appeal against a court ruling that it defamed West Indian cricket player Chris Gayle in a series of articles which claimed that he had exposed himself to a female masseuse. The four-person jury also found that Fairfax published the contentious articles out of malice. Amongst other things, Gayle had sought aggravated and special damages from the media company.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

‘Enormously damaging’: Hounsell strikes back at Lew

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 21 : 31-Oct-17

Gary Hounsell has urged Myer shareholders to elect him and two other independent directors to its board at its AGM on 24 November. The election of Hounsell, who is Myer’s chairman-designate, and the other two directors is opposed by Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments, which is Myer’s largest shareholder. Lew has requested three seats on the Myer board, but Hounsell says this would amount to him controlling 43 per cent of non-executive director roles. Hounsell has told Myer shareholders that Lew appears to want to gain control of the company without them benefiting from any takeover premium.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, DOTTI, PORTMANS PTY LTD, PETER ALEXANDER SLEEPWEAR PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, JUST JEANS PTY LTD, JAY JAY’S JEANS WAREHOUSE PTY LTD, JACQUELINE EVE GROUP, SMIGGLE PTY LTD

Ten loses hits as Fox rips up deal

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 31-Oct-17

US media giant 21st Century Fox has formally terminated its program supply deal with the Ten Network, which will no longer be able to broadcast popular shows such as "The Simpsons" and "Modern Family". Ten had suspended broadcasts of Fox shows earlier in October after negotiations for a new content deal stalled. Court approval is the final hurdle for the acquisition of Ten by Fox rival CBS Corporation. Ten will present its 2018 "upfronts" in early November.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, CBS CORPORATION, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Bunnings ‘sizzling’ with high customer satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Oct-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that Bunnings Warehouse has pipped rival Home Timber & Hardware to be Australia’s leading Hardware Store in September 2017 with a customer satisfaction rating of 89.0%, up 0.1% from a year ago. Home Timber & Hardware has a customer satisfaction rating of 88.6%, virtually unchanged from a year ago, and enough to beat out Mitre 10 in third with a customer satisfaction rating of 86.9%. Rounding out the Hardware Store "Big 4" is True Value Hardware with a customer satisfaction rating of 76.3%, down slightly on a year ago. Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine says Home Timber & Hardware has performed consistently well over the past few years, winning the Annual Roy Morgan Hardware Store Customer Satisfaction Award in four out of the last five years, although the 2017 Annual Award looks set to go down to the wire with Bunnings aiming for its first victory in the category since 2011.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, HOME TIMBER AND HARDWARE, MITRE 10 LIMITED, TRUE VALUE HARDWARE LIMITED

Exposing sources a ‘slippery slope’

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 26 : 30-Oct-17

The right of journalists to protect confidential sources of information is under scrutiny in the wake of revelations that a police raid on Australian Workers’ Union offices had been leaked to the media. The Nine Network’s chief political editor Chris Uhlmann says he would never reveal his sources, while the Seven Network’s chief political reporter Mark Riley stresses that there can be no exceptions to the Media Entertainment & Arts ­Alliance’s Journalist Code of Ethics.

CORPORATES
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, BUZZFEED PTY LTD, SKY NEWS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GETUP LIMITED

JB Hi-Fi leads Ikea & The Good Guys for satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Oct-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that JB Hi-Fi is Australia’s leading furniture and electrical retailer, with a customer satisfaction rating of 90.1% in September 2017. Its customer satisfaction has fallen 1% from a year ago. Behind JB Hi-Fi in second place is an improving Ikea on 88.9%, up 3.1% on a year ago, followed by JB Hi-Fi stablemate The Good Guys on 88.6%. However, the biggest improver in the category over the past year is 2015 Annual winner Betta Home Living/Betta Electrical, which surged 6.9% to a customer satisfaction rating of 88.2%. Harvey Norman rounds out the top 5 with 86.8% of its customers satisfied. Roy Morgan Research CEO Michele Levine says the strong performance of JB Hi-Fi, and recent purchase The Good Guys, sets the two retailers up for a good showing at the 2017 Annual Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards, due to be held early in 2018.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, IKEA TRADING PTY LTD, THE GOOD GUYS, BETTA ELECTRICAL PTY LTD, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN