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Laws not the only obstacle to mega-mergers

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 20-Mar-17

The Australian Government’s cross-media ownership reform bill is slated to be debated by the Senate on 20 Match 2017. However, even if the bill is passed by Parliament, it remains uncertain as to whether the reforms will result in large-scale mergers in the media sector. Aside from the fact that there may not be sufficient support among executives and shareholders for such deals, any mergers would be aimed primarily at competing with Google and Facebook for advertising revenue in the long-term, rather than rival media companies.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, SKY NEWS, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Guthrie wields the axe at ABC

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Original article by Darren Davidson, Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 8-Mar-17

The ABC will streamline its management structure and retrench up to 200 employees in plans that were unveiled by MD Michelle Guthrie on 7 March 2017. The number of divisions within the public broadcaster will be reduced from 14 to just eight, while the ABC intends to hire up to 80 employees in rural areas in a push to increase its national reach. Guthrie has also signalled that staff will be more accountable, while the costs savings will be invested in content.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

DJ’s relocation triggers staff exodus

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 3-Mar-17

David Jones’s decision to relocate its headquarters from Sydney to Melbourne is expected to create up to 600 jobs in the latter city. However, the number of staff, particularly in the areas of marketing and finance, that have agreed to move from Sydney to Melbourne is said to be quite a deal less than what South African parent company Woolworths Holdings had forecast, meaning it may need to poach staff from other Melbourne-based retailers such as Myer, Cotton On and Kathmandu.

CORPORATES
DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, COTTON ON, KATHMANDU HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KMD, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, COUNTRY ROAD LIMITED

Coles to reduce pay time for suppliers to 14 days

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Original article by Fleur Anderson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 3-Mar-17

Small Business & Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell will shortly make recommendations on sanctions for large companies that do not pay suppliers promptly. Meanwhile, Coles has committed to reducing its payment terms for many smaller suppliers from an average of 30 days to no more than 14 days. Coles MD John Durkan stresses that the new policy, which takes effect from mid-2017, is being introduced independently of Carnell’s review of payment terms.

CORPORATES
COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, RED KELLY’S GOURMET FOODS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, MARKET INVOICE

Earnings the focus as Nine pledges to regain revenue share

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 21 : 24-Feb-17

Nine Entertainment Company has posted a 2016-17 interim loss of $A236.9m, after writing down the value of its TV assets by $A260m. Underlying net profit fell by four per cent to $A75m, and group revenue was five per cent lower at $A659.2m. The TV division’s revenue was also down five per cent, at $A578.2m. Nine CEO Hugh Marks is upbeat about the outlook for the second half, noting a rise in its TV ratings and indications of an improvement in the advertising market.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, WARNER BROS

Fairfax investors back Domain spin-off, but want more of it

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Original article by James Thomson, John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 22-Feb-17

Shares in Fairfax Media were placed in a trading halt on 21 February 2017, pending an announcement by the group. It follows media reports which suggested that Fairfax may demerge its Domain property listings business but retain a stake of 60-70 per cent. Allan Gray Australia’s Simon Mawhinney and Fairfax shareholder Alex Waislitz support the demerger, although the latter says Fairfax should have acted much sooner. Fraser McLeish of Credit Suisse recently valued Domain at about $A2.2bn, based on its earnings forecast for 2018.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY MONITORS PTY LTD, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, RSVP, WEATHERZONE, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TRADE ME GROUP LIMITED – ASX TME

Reforms face stiff test from Hanson

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 23 : 13-Feb-17

The Federal Government’s cross-media ownership reforms will require the support of Senate crossbenchers. However, One Nation senator Pauline Hanson is said to be concerned about foreign ownership of Australian media assets, while Nick Xenophon advocates imposing a "super profits" tax on Google and Facebook due to their growing dominance of the online advertising market. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield is tipped to introduce the media reform bill in the upper house in mid-February 2017.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Seven probe set to clear Worner as director quits

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 3-Feb-17

Law firm Allens has completed its investigation into the allegations against Seven West Media CEO Tim Worner made by former employee Amber Harrison. The Allens report is expected to exonerate Worner, who has admitted that he had a sexual relationship with Harrison. Meanwhile, Sheila McGregor has resigned from the board of Seven West Media. It is believed that she had concerns about the way the company has handled the Harrison scandal.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, ALLENS, GILBERT AND TOBIN LAWYERS, IINET LIMITED

Hanson set to scupper ownership laws

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 26 : 30-Jan-17

There is speculation that One Nation will vote against the Federal Government’s cross-media ownership reforms when Parliament resumes in February. One Nation founder Pauline Hanson has declined to comment on her party’s intentions, although the Government is likely to need its support to pass the bill in the Senate. Meanwhile, Senator Nick Xenophon will push for amendments to the bill, as well as the introduction of a "super tax" on digital players Google and Facebook.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Pay-TV defies on-demand boost

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 25 : 23-Jan-17

Data from Roy Morgan Research shows that around 2.27 million Australian households had a Netflix subscription in December 2016. Some 428,000 homes have a Stan subscription, while about 151,000 homes use Presto. The figures also show that 2.42 million homes have a Foxtel subscription and 200,000 homes use FetchTV. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine notes that despite the growing use of subscription video-on-demand services, traditional free-to-air TV remains the main source of video content for Australian consumers.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FETCHTV PTY LTD, AMAZON PRIME