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Booktopia aims to raise $43.1m in IPO and list on ASX in December

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Original article by Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: Online : 3-Nov-20

Online book retailer Booktopia has announced plans to list on the ASX on 3 December, and is seeking to raise $43.1 million via an initial public offer. Booktopia claims it has a six per cent of the Australian book market, as well as accounting for just under 15 per cent of total internet consumer book sales in Australia. It generated revenue of $165.8 million in the 2020 financial year, and is forecasting revenue of $204.5 million in the 2021 financial year. Co-founder and CEO Tony Nash says he will be staying on as CEO when the company goes public, while he has no plans to sell any of his Booktopia shares in the IPO.

CORPORATES
BOOKTOPIA PTY LTD

It’s money in the till as Ritchies’ profit doubles

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 3-Nov-20

Independent supermarket retailer Ritchies has advised that its pre-tax profit for the 12 months ending June rose 98 per cent to $37.7 million. Net profit was up 79 per cent to $24.9 million, while sales increased by 14.7 per cent to $1.25 billion. CEO Fred Harrison said COVID-19 had helped bring about its better result, but he believes Ritchies was already on the improve before the pandemic hit. Harrison reaffirmed that he had no plans to exercise a put option to sell Ritchies to grocery, liquor and hardware wholesaler Metcash, which owns 26 per cent of Ritchies.

CORPORATES
RITCHIES STORES PTY LTD, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS

Johnny Depp loses his libel case

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Original article by
The Australian – Page: 3 : 3-Nov-20

‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star Johnny Depp has lost his libel case over an article that appeared in ‘The Sun’ newspaper in the UK. The article made claims that Depp was violent to former wife Amber Heard during their turbulent two-year marriage, with Depp having sued News Group Publishers, which owns ‘The Sun’, along with the journalist who wrote the article. Depp’s loss in the case followed three weeks of testimony that included claims of domestic violence and substance abuse, with Judge Andrew Nicol stating the article had been shown to be "substantially true".

CORPORATES
NEWS GROUP NEWSPAPERS LIMITED

Critical mineral groups bank on Biden

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 27-Oct-20

Ioneer’s chairman James Calaway has welcomed indications by presidential candidate Joe Biden that he is supportive of US production of solar panels, electric vehicles and energy storage. Australian-listed Ioneer is seeking to develop a lithium mine in Nevada, and Calaway says the US looks set for a "electrified clean future" if Biden wins the election, with huge implications for the supply of battery materials such as lithium. Biden has stated that he will spend $US2 trillion ($2.8 trillion) on electric vehicle infrastructure and other projects to curb carbon emissions if he is elected, and analysts believe that his plan will spark ongoing demand for copper.

CORPORATES
IONEER LIMITED – ASX INR, DEMOCRATIC PARTY (UNITED STATES)

AFL wins TV war with NRL

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Original article by Scott Gullan
Herald Sun – Page: 59 : 27-Oct-20

Ratings data from OzTAM shows that the 2020 AFL grand final attracted 3.812 million viewers nationwide, which is the largest audience for an AFL match in four years. The Seven Network boasted an audience share of 65.8% for its coverage of the premiership decider. The AFL is likely to come under growing pressure to move the grand final to a prime-time slot permanently due to the strong ratings. Meanwhile, the Nine Network’s coverage of the NRL grand final was watched by 2.967 million viewers, compared with 2.65 million in 2019.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, OZTAM PTY LTD, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

Seven floated merger with ViacomCBS’ Ten

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Age – Page: Online : 26-Oct-20

Sources have indicated that Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes held informal talks earlier in 2020 about a potential merger with the rival Ten Network. The discussions between Stokes and ViacomCBS president and CEO Bob Bakish are said to have ended after they agreed that such a deal would not be possible under Australia’s existing media ownership rules. Any such deal would also have faced scrutiny by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. The talks have heightened speculation that Stokes may be keen to exit the media sector.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, VIACOMCBS INCORPORATED

The Hunter Biden story is a crucial moment: does Twitter care more than News Corp about fact-checking?

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Original article by Margaret Simons
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 23-Oct-20

A recent story in the ‘New York Post’ about the son of US presidential candidate Joe Biden has become the battleground over the principle that media organisations should not publish allegations unless they believe them to be true, and after they have undertaken appropriate checks. The story has pitched traditional media company News Corporation against social media giants Facebook and Twitter. The social media giants have sought to stop the story from circulating due to doubts about its veracity. News Corp in turn has accused them of censorship, while it has generally failed to acknowledgement that the original story may have been false.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED

Life on the outside

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Original article by Maureen Dowd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1, 6 & 7 : 16-Oct-20

James Murdoch quit the board of News Corporation in June, having at one point of time hoped to lead the media company. Murdoch cited differences in certain content published by some of its news outlets, along with some other strategic decisions, as his reason for leaving at the time. He has established a company called Lupa Systems, while his investments include a comic company whose publisher once worked for Marvel. Murdoch says he decided to leave News Corp because he believed he could be "more effective outside" the company, while friend Matthew Vaughn believes that Murdoch will now start his own empire.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, LUPA SYSTEMS

Federal police drop case against ABC journalist

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 7 : 16-Oct-20

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions will not take legal action against ABC journalist Daniel Oakes over a series of reports known as ‘The Afghan Files’. The CDPP has deemed that the public interest does not require a prosecution in the case of Oakes; the Australian Federal Police has subsequently advised that its investigation into allegations that Oakes obtained classified information has been closed. ABC MD David Anderson says the matter should never have gone as far as it did.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

ABC indulged ‘activist agenda’, says V’landys

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Original article by Kieran Gair
The Australian – Page: 7 : 15-Oct-20

Racing NSW CEO Peter V’landys has given evidence in his defamation lawsuit against the ABC and one of its journalists. The case centres on a story that appeared on the ‘7.30’ current affairs program in October 2019; it featured an interview with V’landys that was spliced with graphic footage of retired racehorses being killed at a Queensland abattoir. V’landys claimed that the story "pandered to an activist agenda" and alleges that the ABC failed to make it clear that he has no jurisdiction over racehorses in Queensland. V’landys is seeking aggravated damages.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, RACING NSW