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Mogul Gordon grabs shares to increase stake in Nine

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 10-Jan-19

Australian businessman Bruce Gordon has lifted his direct stake in Nine Entertainment Company from 7.6 per cent to 8.9 per cent. Gordon has a total economic interest in Nine of about 13.4 per cent when a 4.5 per cent stake held via a cash-settled share swap is taken into account. Gordon’s stake in Nine had been diluted by its merger with Fairfax Media.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, BIRKETU PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC

Seven opens batting with cricket rating win

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 15 : 9-Jan-19

The Seven Network says ratings figures show that more than 14 million Australians watched its coverage of the Test cricket series against India. Seven boasted a 56 per cent share of daytime commercial television ratings during its coverage of the four-Test series. The ratings for Seven’s coverage of the Big Bash League are lower than the figures achieved by previous free-to-air broadcaster Ten. However, BBL ratings have risen when the combined coverage of Seven and Foxtel are taken into account.

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BIG BASH LEAGUE, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, KFC, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, OZTAM PTY LTD, REGTAM PTY LTD

Sign of the times as Fairfax goes

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 9-Jan-19

Nine Entertainment Company has confirmed that it is seeking a buyer for Fairfax Media’s events business, which has been valued at between $24m and $32m by Macquarie Group. Meanwhile, Nine has begun the process of phasing out the Fairfax Media brand; workers have used black plastic sheeting to cover the Fairfax signage on the newspaper publisher’s headquarters in the Sydney suburb of Pyrmont. Some Fairfax staff were recently relocated to Nine’s offices in the Sydney CBD in the wake of the $4.2bn merger.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, LOTUS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, EURO PROPERTIES, SYDNEY CITY COUNCIL, SPORTS MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT 360, NINE LIVE PTY LTD, AFFINITY EQUITY PARTNERS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Pacific making all the write moves

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 7-Jan-19

Seven West Media’s Pacific Magazines division posted EBIT of $9.6m in 2017-18, and it reduced costs by $32.2m. Pacific Magazines CEO Gereurd Roberts is upbeat about the outlook for its portfolio of titles, noting that it is the market leader in every category in which it has a presence. He adds that content is the priority for Pacific Magazines, while it aims to expand its digital business. Gereurd has also flagged the launch of a new monthly magazine in late January.

CORPORATES
PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Pilbara set to seal Chinese funding

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 15 : 3-Jan-19

Australian-listed Pilbara Minerals is believed to have secured funding for the $231m second stage of its Pilgangoora lithium mine in Western Australia. Posco, Great Wall Motor Company, Ganfeng and Pilbara’s bondholders are said to have agreed to finance the expansion project, which will increase annual processing capacity from two million tonnes to five million. Pilbara Minerals’ shares were placed in a trading halt in late December. The stock last traded at $0.62.

CORPORATES
PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS, POSCO, GREAT WALL MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED, GANFENG LITHIUM COMPANY LIMITED

Koreans baulk at cobalt deal as prices tumble

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 15 : 2-Jan-19

South Korea-based SK Innovation failed to exercise an option to acquire a 19.9 per cent stake in Australian Mines by the deadline of 31 December. Shares in the cobalt producer closed at $0.038 on the day, compared with the options’ strike price of $0.12, prompting speculation that SK Innovation will not exercise the option. A sharp fall in the price of cobalt weighed on Australian Mines’ shares in 2018.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN MINES LIMITED – ASX AUZ, SK INNOVATION, CLEAN TEQ HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX CLQ

Retailers hope for big bang finish

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 20-Dec-18

The Australian Retailers Association expects consumers to spend nearly $15bn during the last five trading days before Christmas. It still anticipates that Christmas spending will increase by 2.9 per cent in 2018. Many retailers are also counting on a spike in sales during the final days before Christmas, after less price discounting than in 2017. Meanwhile, Craig Woolford of Citigroup says consumers may spend less during the traditional post-Christmas clearance sales due to the impact of recent online promotions such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, VEND LIMITED, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, REBEL SPORT LIMITED

Karl exits, Nine eyes all-women Today

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Original article by Nick Tabakoff
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 20-Dec-18

The Nine Network is believed to be considering a major revamp of its ‘Today’ breakfast show in 2019, after sacking co-host Karl Stefanovic. Options that are under consideration are said to include having all on-air roles filled by women in order to boost the show’s appeal to female viewers. There is speculation that several other ‘Today’ presenters will be dropped, although they are expected to take on other roles at Nine. The network also recently terminated the services of Peter Stefanovic.

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

Seven ponders WA regional paper sale

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 17-Dec-18

Seven West Media has declined to comment on speculation that it may seek a buyer for some of its regional newspapers in Western Australia. News Corp Australia and Nine Entertainment Company are also believed to be interested in divesting some regional newspapers, and industry insiders say there could be potential for a single buyer to acquire assets from all three companies given that the newspapers have limited geographic overlap.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, WEST REGIONAL NEWSPAPERS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA, AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL MEDIA, HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, ALLEGRO FUNDS PTY LTD, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, TPG CAPITAL LP, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA

Bunnings enters Christmas period on top for satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Dec-18

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 89.8% of Australian hardware store customers were satisfied in the 12 months to October 2018, an increase of 2.4% year-on-year. Satisfaction with market leader Bunnings increased 1% point to 90%, holding off an increase of 2% by Mitre 10 to 89%. Home Hardware is in third place on 88% (down 1% for the year), followed by True Value Hardware on 83%. These are the latest results from Roy Morgan’s ‘Hardware Store Satisfaction Report’, which is based on in-depth personal interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 Australians per annum in their homes, including over 9,000 interviews with people who have shopped in a hardware store in the last four weeks.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, MITRE 10 LIMITED, HOME HARDWARE, TRUE VALUE HARDWARE LIMITED