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$4.3b takeover ends 62 years of CSR on ASX

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 14-Jun-24

CSR shareholders have approved its $4.3 billion takeover by France-based Saint-Gobain, with their endorsement coming two days after the bid was approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board. The takeover gives Saint-Gobain ownership of brands such as Monier roof tiles, Gyprock plasterboard and Hebel building blocks. Some investors were unhappy about that the low price that Saint-Gobain was paying to secure control of CSR, but chairman John Gillam says the offer price of $9 per share was in the top third of the valuation range in an independent expert’s report.

CORPORATES
CSR LIMITED – ASX CSR, SAINT-GOBAIN, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

News Corp to cut sales staff, up to 80 jobs to go

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Original article by Calum Jaspan
The Age – Page: Online : 13-Jun-24

News Corp Australia is set to announce further redundancies as part of a restructuring program and its push to reduce costs by up to $65m. The media group’s sales team is expected to bear the brunt of the latest jobs cuts, with speculation that up to 80 employees will be retrenched. However, a News Corp spokesperson has dismissed claims that 40 per cent of its sales personnel will be sacked. News Corp Australia’s executive chairman Michael Miller recently downplayed speculation that more than 100 journalists will also be retrenched.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

News outlets producing covert marketing for McDonald’s, KFC and Domino’s, study finds

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Original article by Natasha May
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 5-Jun-24

Researchers have concluded that Australian media outlets are overtly endorsing fast-food products by publishing positive stories that are based on press releases issued by these restaurant chains. The research team analysed all press releases issued by McDonald’s, KFC and Domino’s Pizza Enterprises between July 2021 and June 2022. These press releases were found to have generated 86 articles in 31 news outlets; four of the articles were identical to the corresponding press release, while many others were largely based on the original press release. All but six of the articles were favourable towards the fast-food chains.

CORPORATES
McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KFC, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP

News Corp pain as executive heads roll

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 5-Jun-24

News Corp Australia’s state general managers are among the casualties of the media group’s restructuring program. Other News Corp staff who are said to have been retrenched include the general manager of print production, Marcus Hooke. Some editors of metropolitan mastheads will also take on additional responsibilities at part of the move to split the company’s publishing operations into three divisions. Meanwhile, former Sunday Telegraph editor Mick Carroll will succeed Lisa Muxworthy as editor-in-chief of the news.com.au website, while Lou Barrett will head the new national sales team.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Fair Work Commission finds journalist and presenter Antoinette Lattouf was sacked by ABC

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Original article by Isobel Roe
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 4-Jun-24

The Fair Work Commission has found that journalist and presenter Antoinette Lattouf was sacked by the ABC, after she was taken off air part way through a radio presenting stint in December. With Lattouf having lodged a claim against the ABC for unfair dismissal, it had argued that her employment was not actually terminated, as she had been paid for all of the five days on which she was scheduled to broadcast. The Commission’s ruling paves the way for Lattouf to pursue an unlawful termination case against the ABC, with that case having been filed in the Federal Court.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Rates pressure, costs keep lid on retail sales

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 4 : 29-May-24

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that retail sales rose by just 0.1 per cent in April, after falling by 0.4 per cent in March. The seasonally adjusted data also shows that retail sales increased by 1.3 per cent year-on-year in April. UBS chief economist George Tharenou say younger Australians and people with mortgages are primarily reducing their spending, while this is being offset by increased expenditure by older people and households that have no debt. Tharenou adds that the ongoing weakness in retail sales will make it less urgent for the Reserve Bank to increase the cash rate; he still expects an interest rate cut in February.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Nine’s CEO signed $1m exit payout

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth, James Madden
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 28-May-24

Nine Entertainment Company is continuing to attract scrutiny over the sudden resignation of the Nine Network’s director of news and current affairs, Darren Wick. A spokeswoman has confirmed that Nine’s CEO Mike Sneesby had sign off on Wick’s severance pay of almost $1m, and the media group’s board had no role in the payout. It has previously been revealed that the board had discussed allegations that Wick had sexually harassed a number of female colleagues during his long tenure at Nine. Meanwhile, Nine will commission an independent review of its TV newsrooms’ culture in the wake of the allegations against Wick.

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

Ten baulks at Wilkinson’s $1.8m claim for costs

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Original article by Ellie Dudley
The Australian – Page: 3 : 28-May-24

Presenter Lisa Wilkinson is seeking over $1.8 million from the Ten Network to pay her legal costs in the aftermath of their defamation case against Bruce Lehrmann, with the Federal Court being told by her lawyers on Monday that Ten was showing an "ongoing reluctance" to pay her costs. The dispute between Wilkinson and Ten over her legal costs arose as a result of her deciding to seek separate representation for the defamation case, with Ten arguing that she should pay for all aspects of the case where it was not necessary for her to have separate representation.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Free TV networks push for anti-siphoning laws to include streaming services

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Original article by Parker McKenzie
The New Daily – Page: Online : 14-May-24

Australia’s free-to-air networks have joined forces to launch the ‘Free for Everyone’ advertising campaign. The networks are urging the federal government to update the nation’s anti-siphoning laws to specifically include streaming services. They argue that the existing laws only guarantee that major sporting events are broadcast on linear TV rather than the streaming platforms of FTA networks, and at present there is nothing to prevent companies such as Netflix from buying the exclusive digital broadcasting rights to flagship events. The networks note that many consumers now watch broadcast TV via the internet rather than using a traditional aerial.

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Network 10 is in total turmoil and may not survive as Australia’s third commercial broadcaster

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Original article by Shannon Molloy
News.com.au – Page: Online : 8-May-24

Professor Amanda Lotz from the Queensland University of Technology believes that one of Australia’s three commercial free-to-air TV networks will not survive until the end of this decade. She says the sector is in a "death spiral" and it possible that just one network will be viable in the long-term. The three networks had combined advertising revenue of $7.7bn in 2006, but this had fallen to $3.8bn in 2020-21. The Ten Network’s future in particular is uncertain, given that it may not be very appealing to potential buyers of parent company Paramount Global. Media commentator James Manning says a private equity firm seeking a "bargain buy" might be the most likely buyer of Ten.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, PARAMOUNT GLOBAL, QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY