Uncategorized

David Jones’ future lies in food, fashion

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 23-Jun-17

David Jones CEO John Dixon says the department store chain will spend at least $A100 million over the next three years on improving its food offering. Dixon says that the availability of food helps to encourage customers to stay longer, and it is something that helps to differentiate it from online retailers. Stephen Carrott of JP Morgan suggests that David Jones’s new strategy will help it to generate $A700 million a year from food sales by 2022.

CORPORATES
DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MARKS AND SPENCER PLC, CAPE GRIM BEEF, SONOMA WOODFIRED BAKING COMPANY PTY LTD, SERENDIPITY ICECREAM, IN2FOODS, YARRA VALLEY FARMS, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR

Ten’s fate left hanging on media reforms

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 23-Jun-17

The first meeting of Ten Network’s creditors will be held on 26 June, and the second is scheduled to be held by 18 July. However, administrator KordaMentha may seek to delay the second creditors’ meeting pending the fate of the Federal Government’s cross-media ownership reforms. The Senate is unlikely to pass the bill before Parliament rises for the winter recess, so early August will be the Government’s first opportunity to push ahead with the reforms.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, PPB HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

‘Libs have Buckley’s chance’ of quick win on media reform

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 2 : 22-Jun-17

The Australian Government has prioritised its schools funding package over the media reform bill in the Senate, although Communications Minister Mitch Fifield is said to still be aiming for a vote on the latter in coming days. However, independent senator Nick Xenophon says there is little chance of the media reforms getting through the Senate before Parliament’s winter recess. The Nick Xenophon Team and the Greens are open to supporting the reforms, subject to measures aimed at safeguarding media diversity.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Buyers sought for under-the-pump Ten

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 19 : 22-Jun-17

Ten Network’s administrators have called for expressions of interest to buy or recapitalise the free-to-air broadcaster. An advertisement in national newspapers on 22 June notes that Ten boasts gross revenue of $A3bn. Ten’s administrators from KordaMentha anticipate a 60-day sales process, although they are also expected to seek parties to recapitalise the network. KordaMentha is likely to be subject to a conflict of interests probe given that it has also acted as an adviser to Ten.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN RESTRUCTURING INSOLVENCY AND TURNAROUND ASSOCIATION, GILBERT AND TOBIN LAWYERS

Kathmandu rises above gloom over Amazon effect

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 21-Jun-17

Shares in Kathmandu Holdings have gained about 40 per cent in the last 12 months. The stock has been resilient amid recent bearish investor sentiment toward listed retailers in response to the looming entry of Amazon to the Australian market. Kathmandu has benefited from cold weather in the eastern states in the lead-up to its winter sale, while it reported year-on-year growth of 11.5 per cent in same-store sales in the three months to April 2017.

CORPORATES
KATHMANDU HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KMD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, CYAN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BRISCOE GROUP LIMITED, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, BAIN AND COMPANY

Fifield wants Senate media vote this week

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 2 : 21-Jun-17

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield is keen for the Senate to vote on cross-media ownership reforms as soon as possible, although One Nation’s Brian Burston says a vote on the bill is unlikely this week. One Nation opposes abolition of the "two-of-three" rule, and Burston notes that his party’s alternative of a "three-out-of-four rule" has had a lukewarm response from the Government. Meanwhile, the Greens may be willing to support scrapping the two-of-three" rule, but only if action is taken to safeguard media diversity.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Crunch time as Coalition woos Hanson media vote

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 20-Jun-17

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says the Australian Labor Party supports key elements of the Federal Government’s proposed media reforms, but it still opposes scrapping the "two-out-of-three rule". Labor’s caucus will decide its stance on the bill on 20 June 2017, ahead of debate in the Senate. The support of One Nation may be crucial to passage of the legislation in the upper house, and the party has suggested the alternative of a "three-out-of-four" rule.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ABALONE EXPORTS PTY LTD, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM

Fairfax digs in over Singleton bid

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 19 : 20-Jun-17

Fairfax Media will not allow businessmen John Singleton and Mark Carnegie to undertake due diligence on Macquarie Media, in which it holds a 54.5 per cent stake. Singleton and Carnegie, who collectively own more than 40 per cent of Macquarie, recently advised Fairfax that they are keen to acquire the radio stations group. Fairfax suitors TPG Capital and Hellman & Friedman are primarily interested in the target’s Domain property listings business.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, DOMAIN.COM.AU, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Jungle king tears into groceries

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John McDuling
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 19-Jun-17

Robert Luciano of VGI Partners says Australian retailers should be concerned by Amazon’s purchase of grocery retailer Whole Foods. Amazon announced on 16 June 2017 that it will acquire the US grocery retailer for $US13.7 billion ($A18 billion), and that Whole Foods will continue to trade under its current name. Luciano suggests that the purchase represents a major evolvement in Amazon’s business model. Amazon is due to commence operating in Australia in 2018, and it is expected to have a major impact on the earnings of local retailers.

CORPORATES
VGI PARTNERS PTY LTD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, WHOLE FOODS MARKET INCORPORATED, SOUQ, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AMAZON WEB SERVICES LLC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN

Formal bids for Fairfax due in next fortnight with Domain the target

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 19-Jun-17

Hellman & Friedman and TPG Capital may seek more time to undertake due diligence on Fairfax Media, although they may submit formal bids by the end of June. Fairfax has also advised that businessmen John Singleton and Mark Carnegie have expressed interest in acquiring its controlling stake in radio stations owner Macquarie Media. They had previously made an approach to buy Fairfax’s radio assets in 2012.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, TPG CAPITAL LP, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, 2GB, 3AW SOUTHERN CROSS RADIO PTY LTD, DOMAIN.COM.AU, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, GILBERT AND TOBIN LAWYERS, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD