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Cat strikes back at weak Domain

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 3-Feb-20

Australian Community Newspapers’ owners Antony Catalano and Alex Waislitz have paid about $10m for a 33 per cent stake in Realestateview.com.au. Catalano will join the board of the unlisted classified advertising group. Realestateview.com.au CEO Toby Balazs notes that combining its property listings with ACN’s portfolio of regional newspapers means it will have a digital audience of 5.4 million. Catalano expects the new venture to be a serious rival to Domain, although he concedes that Realstate.com.au is likely to remain the leading player in the sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA, REALESTATEVIEW.COM.AU LIMITED, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, REALESTATE.COM.AU, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Bauer boss urges ACCC: think digital

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 27-Jan-20

Bauer Media Australian CEO Brendon Hill has urged the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to approve the proposed $40m merger with Pacific Magazines. The ACCC’s statement of issues identified concerns such as the potential for the prices of some magazines to rise and for their quality to decline. Hill is disappointed that the ACCC chose to focus on four titles, and he argues that the magazine market is much broader. He has also rejected suggestions that Bauer would discontinue some Pacific titles.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Kaufland exit helps Coles

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 17 : 24-Jan-20

JP Morgan analyst Shaun Cousins says Coles and Metcash have most to gain from Kaufland’s decision to abandon the $100 billion Australian grocery market before it had even opened a store. He says the gap in the market that the German retailer had sought to fill was not obvious, while Citigroup’s Bryan Raymond says Kaufland’s exit has removed a major risk from what he says has been a very rational grocery industry in the past 12 months.

CORPORATES
COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, KAUFLAND STIFTUNG & CO KG, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Bauer chief determined to proceed with $40m Pac Mags deal with Seven

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 24-Jan-20

Bauer Media Australia CEO Brendon Hill has stressed that the group’s proposed acquisition of Pacific Magazines is in the interests of the magazine industry. He adds that Bauer and its German parent are fully committed to the $40m deal to buy Pacific from Seven West Media. He has rejected suggestions that Mercury Capital’s withdrawal of its offer to acquire Bauer Media Australia will affect the Pacific deal. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission expressed concern in late 2019 about the potential impact of the merger on competition in the magazine sector.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, MERCURY CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, BAUER MEDIA KG

Mercury gives up on Bauer buyout

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 17 : 23-Jan-20

Bauer Media Australia CEO Brendon Hill has confirmed that private equity firm Mercury Capital has withdrawn its offer to acquire the magazine publisher. Hill added that Bauer is open to another approach from the private equity sector if the company’s proposed merger with Pacific Magazines goes ahead. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission recently expressed concern about the potential impact of the merger on competition in the magazine sector.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, MERCURY CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Music to replace sport talk at Nine

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 17 : 22-Jan-20

Nine Entertainment Company intends to phase out its Macquarie Sports Radio network, which has not resonated with consumers. Nine will instead relaunch former radio station brands such as 2UE in Sydney and Magic in Melbourne. The Macquarie Sports Radio stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane will adopt a music format, featuring songs from the 1970, 80s and 90s. Nine has advised that the stations will honour their existing sports broadcasting rights contracts.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MACQUARIE SPORTS RADIO, RADIO 2UE SYDNEY PTY LTD, MAGIC FM

The Athlete’s Foot satisfied 84% of its customers

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Jan-20

The Athlete’s Foot has won Roy Morgan’s Shoe Store of the Month award for November 2019, with a customer satisfaction rating of 84%. The Athlete’s Foot has won seven straight monthly satisfaction awards since winning its first award for 2019 in May. It had a comfortable lead over both Williams (74%) and Spendless Shoes (71%) in November. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says that The Athlete’s Foot has been rewarded for maintaining stable customer satisfaction ratings over the past three years, in an industry that is experiencing considerable fluctuations in satisfaction levels. Its satisfaction rating of 84% is only down 2% compared with three years ago. This is in contrast to Williams on 74%, which has decreased 10% over the same period, and Spendless Shoes on 71%, dropping 16%. The customer satisfaction ratings have been taken from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, compiled by in-depth face-to-face interviews with over 50,000 Australians each year in their homes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, THE ATHLETE’S FOOT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WILLIAMS SHOES, SPENDLESS SHOES PTY LTD

Black Friday sales now etched firmly into Australian retailing

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Original article by Liam Walsh
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 17-Jan-20

Michael Hill International’s sales grew by 3.3 per cent to $203m in the December quarter, while same-store sales rose by four per cent to $198m. The listed jewellery retailer’s same-store sales in Australia rose 1.6 per cent to $103.5m, although overall sales fell 0.9 per cent to $105.9m. CEO Daniel Bracken notes that the group’s sales increased in November due to the ‘Black Friday’ sales. He adds that the Black Friday sales are having an impact on consumers undertake their Christmas shopping.

CORPORATES
MICHAEL HILL INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX MHJ

Weathering the storm: inside the Murdoch family climate schism

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 17-Jan-20

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch announced in late 2006 that News Corporation had a responsibility to ‘take the lead’ with regard to climate change. Murdoch subsequently revealed a number of initiatives aimed at reducing his media empire’s carbon footprint, including the ‘CoolChange’ program, which was known as ‘1Degree’ in Australia. Murdoch’s stance on climate change came as a surprise to many observers, given that he had traditionally been a climate change sceptic. News Corp’s stance on climate change is attracting renewed scrutiny amid criticism of its newspapers’ coverage of the bushfires crisis.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS,{SPAC}NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Even denim’s got the blues as Jeanswest collapses

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 15 : 16-Jan-20

Peter Gothard and James Stewart of KPG have been appointed as voluntary administrators of the Australian division of Jeanswest Corporation. The clothing retailer boasts 988 employees and 146 stores across Australia, and is the latest casualty of the downturn in the retail sector. Gothard says the administrators will seek expressions of interest from potential buyers of the business, which was founded in 1972. The first creditors’ meeting is scheduled for 28 January. Jeanswest’s New Zealand arm is not affected by the collapse.

CORPORATES
JEANSWEST CORPORATION PTY LTD, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD