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Macquarie Media shares jump as Nine confirms mop-up talks

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, Bridget Carter
The Australian – Page: 19 : 6-Dec-18

Nine Entertainment Company has advised that it has held preliminary talks about moving to full ownership of Macquarie Media when the merger with Fairfax Media is completed. The enlarged Nine will have a 54.5 per cent stake in the radio stations owner, ahead of advertising industry veteran John Singleton with a 32 per cent stake. Shares in Macquarie rose 12.6 per cent to $2.06 on 5 December. Media reports have suggested that Nine is likely to offer around $2 per share for Macquarie.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, HADIAC PTY LTD, 2GB, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, 9NOW

Nine swings axe as Fairfax newsrooms reviewed

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 4-Dec-18

Nine Entertainment Company will comprise four divisions following its merger with Fairfax Media. Nine CEO Hugh Marks has advised staff that about 92 jobs will be lost as a result of the merger, although newsroom jobs will not be affected. Nine’s existing management team will largely helm the new divisions, while key Fairfax executives will exit following the merger. They include CEO Greg Hywood and CFO David Housego. The merger is expected to generate annual cost savings of around $50m.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, STUFF LIMITED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, 9NOW, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Don’t kill off mastheads, Nine warned

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 3-Dec-18

David Kirk anticipates further consolidation in Australia’s media sector following the merger between Nine Entertainment Company and Fairfax Media. Kirk, who was Fairfax’s CEO from 2005 to 2008, has urged Nine to retain the media group’s metropolitan mastheads, arguing that they are still a valuable asset. Kirk expects the merger to generate some cost synergies, although he questions its benefits in terms of revenue and profit margins. The newly-enlarged Nine is slated to commence trading on 10 December.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, BAILADOR TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX BTI, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Discount Drug Stores takes the lead in satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Dec-18

Discount Drug Stores has taken out Roy Morgan’s pharmacy customer satisfaction award for October 2018, with 91.4% of its customers reporting that they were ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ satisfied with their shopping experience in the chain’s stores. Its nearest competitor was Priceline Pharmacy, with a total satisfaction rating of 90.4%, followed by Amcal/Amcal Max with an overall satisfaction rating of 90%. Breaking down the satisfaction data by age, the group with the highest level of satisfaction with an individual pharmacy brand was the ‘pre-Baby Boomers’, 96% of whom were ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ satisfied with Soul Pattinson. Satisfaction scores use 12-month moving averages to smooth out data volatility, and are based on the Roy Morgan Single Source survey which involves more than 50,000 detailed face-to-face interviews a year with householders in their own homes, including 15,040 in the past year who rated their pharmacy experience.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, DISCOUNT DRUGSTORES PTY LTD, PRICELINE PHARMACY, AMCAL PTY LTD, AMCAL MAX, SOUL PATTINSON

Saltbush Club: Australia should COP-OUT of COP-24.

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By Viv Forbes,
Secretary of the Saltbush Club

The growing Saltbush Climate Lobby has called on PM Morrison to make no new commitments at the COP24 climate-fest to be held in Poland in a few days.

The Secretary of The Saltbush Club, Mr Viv Forbes, said that Australians no longer trusted what politicians and officials were doing behind closed doors far from home.

“Nothing of benefit to Australian consumers, tax payers or business will come out of COP24. It will just extend the UN’s war on our cheap, reliable hydro-carbon fuels and the backbone industries that rely on them – primary industries, transport, processing and manufacturing.

“It is effectively a ‘War on the West’.

“Australia is particularly vulnerable with no nuclear power, no geothermal power and limited hydropower. This war on reliable hydro-carbon fuels and the promotion of unreliable wind and solar power will increasingly deny our industries and consumers cheap reliable power.

“There is no justification for the War on carbon dioxide – there is no proof that CO2 drives global temperature and Earth’s climate cannot be tweaked by erecting windmills or putting taxes on carbon dioxide.

“COP24 will descend into a grab for cash, and Australia is one of those pullets they plan to pluck.”

fat-chicken

“Believing carbon dioxide is the planet’s climate control knob is pretty close to believing in magic.” – Dr. Richard Lindzen

Viv Forbes
forbes@saltbushclub.com
www.saltbushclub.com

Developing countries are gearing up for the big pay day, and china still defines itself as a developing country: http://sdg.iisd.org/news/basic-ministers-call-for-just-transition-new-finance-goal-ahead-of-katowice-climate-change-conference/

‘Human error’: News Corp salaries, redundancy entitlements emailed to staff

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Original article by Michael Evans
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 29-Nov-18

News Corp Australia has blamed human error for the leaking of confidential salary information. More than 150 News Corp staffers were inadvertently sent an email which outlined the salary packages and redundancy entitlements of several senior employees of the media group. News Corp later issued a statement advising that three of the employees named in the email are leaving or have left the media group; it also said that one of those named "remains a respected member of the team".

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

End of an era: Fairfax bows out of the ASX

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 29-Nov-18

Shares in Fairfax Media rose 2.3 per cent to $0.66 on 28 November, before the stock was suspended from trading ahead of its delisting. Fairfax’s merger with Nine Entertainment Company is slated to be completed on 7 December, with the combined entity set to begin trading three days later. Fairfax had listed on the stock exchange in its present form in May 1992, with its shares closing at $0.9086 on debut.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, AURORA FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED, AUSBIL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, FIL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN

‘Totally frigging mad’: Harvey lashes critics

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 28-Nov-18

Furniture and consumer electronics retailer Harvey Norman incurred a "first strike" against its remuneration report at its AGM on 27 November. It will face a board spill in 2019 if a sufficient number of shareholders vote down the remuneration report again. Chairman Garry Harvey was not very happy about those who have criticised it over various issues, including the independence of its directors and loans to franchisees. Commenting on its share price, which has by fallen 22 per cent in 2018, Harvey said it presents a good opportunity for Harvey Norman to be privatised.

CORPORATES
HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Nine gets claws into Fairfax as Catalano walks

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 & 24 : 28-Nov-18

The Federal Court’s Justice Jacqueline Gleeson has approved the $4bn merger between Nine Entertainment Company and Fairfax Media. Former Domain CEO Antony Catalano has indicated that he is unlikely to appeal the decision, although he maintains that the deal undervalues Fairfax. Catalano had sought to challenge the merger with the financial backing of businessman Nick Bolton. Fairfax shares will be delisted on 29 November.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, 2GB, 3AW SOUTHERN CROSS RADIO PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Guthrie’s $800k go-away payment

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 3 : 27-Nov-18

The ABC has confirmed that former MD Michelle Guthrie received a termination payment when she was sacked in September. Although the ABC would not state the amount Guthrie received, a newspaper has confirmed that she was paid $800,000. Guthrie, who has filed an "adverse action" claim against the ABC in the Fair Work Commission, said at the time of her dismissal that there was no justification for it, and that she had been "devastated" by the ABC’s actions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, JOHNSON WINTER AND SLATTERY