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Melbourne Cup viewing figures up, but far from impressive

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Original article by Nathan Jolly
Mumbrella – Page: Online : 9-Nov-23

The Ten Network’s coverage of the 2023 Melbourne Cup attracted 1.11 million viewers across the five major capital cities, compared with 1.024 million viewers in 2022. However, the broadcast was watched by 1.68 million people nationally, including streaming audiences; this compares with 1.35 million viewers nationally in 2022. The national audience was neverthless below 2021, when Ten’s coverage attracted 1.695 million viewers across metropolitan and regional areas. Ten has chosen not to renew its broadcasting rights deal.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

Black Friday sales tipped to buck Christmas slowdown trend

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Nov-23

Research by the Australian Retailers Association in partnership with Roy Morgan reveals that shoppers are tipped to spend $6.36bn across the four-day Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend (November 24-27); this is up 3.0% from last year. It is expected that many Australian shoppers will use the sales extravaganza to purchase gifts for Christmas. Broader pre-Christmas spending in 2023 is tipped to edge in line with last year’s results as shoppers increasingly tighten their budgets in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis. Provisional forecasts by the ARA and Roy Morgan suggest that $66.8bn will be spent in the November to December 24 Christmas trading period – broadly in line with last year (up slightly by 0.1% or $74,000).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION

Target wary of opportunistic ARN

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 30-Oct-23

ARN Media and Anchorage Capital Partners are offering 0.753 ARN shares for each Southern Cross Austereo share, along with $0.296 in cash and $0.127 in franking credits. Southern Cross chairman John Murray has labelled the takeover bid "opportunistic", while describing it as quite complex and one that could take months to evaluate. Murray and Southern Cross CEO John Kelly have established a sub-committee of its board and management to assess the offer, while its shareholders are supportive of it considering the bid.

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, SOUTHERN CROSS AUSTEREO PTY LTD, ARN MEDIA LIMITED – ASX A1N, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD

ABC boss grilled over Gaza conflict coverage

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Original article by Calum Jaspan
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 25-Oct-23

The ABC’s MD David Anderson appeared before a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday, where he faced questions about the public broadcaster’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. Amongst other things, he was asked about leaked text messages written by the ABC’s Middle East correspondent Tom Joyner, who described reports that Hamas had beheaded Israeli babies as "bullshit". Anderson says the comment was ‘unfortunate’ and should not have happened; he added that it is currently under investigation, and that Joyner will no longer file reports from Israel. Anderson also rejected suggestions that the ABC is anti-Semite.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Lithium takeover talk ignites Pilbara targets

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 24-Oct-23

Chilean lithium company SQM looks set to acquire Pilbara lithium explorer Azure Minerals, which asked for a halt in trading of its shares on Monday ahead of a "potential change of control transaction". Most assume that SQM is the company being referred to, as it offered in July to pay $2.31 per share for Azure in a deal that valued it at close to $1 billion. It was the second deal involving SQM and the Pilbara on Monday, with SQM to pay Gary Morgan’s Haoma Mining $2.5 million for a stake in lithium exploration company Pirra, which is also looking in the area.

CORPORATES
SOCIEDAD QUIMICA Y MINERA SA, AZURE MINERALS LIMITED – ASX AZS, HAOMA MINING NL, PIRRA LITHIUM PTY LTD

Shoppers switching to cheaper brands as cost of living hits

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Original article by Matt Bell
The Australian – Page: 15 : 24-Oct-23

Research by Emarsys shows that the cost-of-living crisis has prompted 63 per cent of Australian consumers to buy cheaper brands, compared with 49 per cent of consumers globally. Emarsys CEO Joanna Milliken says consumers have become more focused on saving money rather than factors such as brand loyalty or sustainability. Milliken suggests that many consumers are likely to switch permanently to cheaper brands. Emarsys is an omnichannel subidiary of software group SAP; its survey comprised 2,000 consumers in Australia and 10,000 globally.

CORPORATES
EMARSYS, SAP AG

Ellison eyes new lithium prize in WA

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 23-Oct-23

Mineral Resources has declined to comment on reports that it is looking to acquire a stake in Wildcat Resources, citing ‘market speculation’. Wildcat recently completed a deal with Global Advanced Metals to acquire the Tabba Tabba lithium project in the Pilbara. Global Advanced Metals is owned by the private equity firm of Mineral Resources’ chairman James McClements. The Tabba Tabba project is in turn located near the Wodgina lithium mine, which is jointly owned by Mineral Resources and Albemarle.

CORPORATES
MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, WILDCAT RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX WC8, GLOBAL ADVANCED METALS PTY LTD

Heat on ABC voice, Garma spending

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 23 : 23-Oct-23

The ABC’s MD David Anderson is slated to appear before a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday. Liberal senator Hollie Hughes recently wrote to Anderson informing him of the issues he can expect to be asked about. They include how much the public broadcaster spent on its coverage of the Voice referendum over the last year, as well as its coverage of the Garma Festival in the Northern Territory. Anderson will also be asked to provide more details of ABC employees whose annual salaries exceed $220,000. The ABC’s legal costs are also likely to come under scrutiny.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Starboard pushes News Corp to sell REA Group stake

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Original article by Crystal Tse
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 18-Oct-23

Starboard Value has used an investor presentation to argue that News Corporation is significantly undervalued. The activist investor contended that News Corp could unlock more than than $US7bn ($11bn) for shareholders by divesting its 61 per cent stake in Australian-listed REA Group. The firm argued that doing so would also highlight the value of News Corp’s other assets, and it values the media group’s assets at around $US33 per share overall. News Corp’s US-listed shares are currently trading at around $US22.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, STARBOARD VALUE LP, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA

Liontown shares slump as Rinehart flexes muscle

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 12-Oct-23

Shares in Liontown Resources fell from around $3 to $2.90 during intra-day trade on Wednesday, with the fall coming after Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting announced it had increased its stake in the lithium explorer to 19.9 per cent. With $3 being the price at which battery metals company Albemarle has ‘pitched’ its $6.6 billion takeover offer for Liontown, the fall in its share price was seen as a sign that investors see little chance in its bid succeeding. It may now have to abandon its offer, or work in partnership with Rinehart.

CORPORATES
LIONTOWN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX LTR,[SPACE]HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD,[SPACE]ALBERMARLE CORPORATION

MINING CORPORATIONS – AUSTRALIA,[SPACE]INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENTS – AUSTRALIA,[SPACE]MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS – AUSTRALIA]