AUSTRALIAN – UNITED STATES

Gas green light puts Woodside in front

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Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 30-Apr-25

Woodside Energy has made a final investment decision to proceed with its e $US17bn ($27bn) Louisiana LNG project in the US. Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill has described the project as a "game-changer" for the oil and gas group. The project, which was previously called Driftwood, was acquired for $1.2bn in 2024. Woodside will contribute $US11.8bn to its development, while the balance will be funded by Stonepeak, which has bought a 40 per cent stake in Louisiana LNG. The project will make Woodside one of the world’s biggest producers of LNG, with a global market share of more than five per cent.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS

Time to buy, says James Hardie

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Original article by Cameron England
The Australian – Page: 15 & 23 : 25-Mar-25

Australian-listed building materials group James Hardie Industries has defended its move to acquire US-based Azec, which makes outdoor living products such as decking and siding. James Hardie CEO Aaron Erter says the two companies’ products are complementary, and the $US8.75bn ($13.93bn) deal is expected to generate annual synergies of around $US350m. Erter has also downplayed concerns about pursuing the deal amid the current political and macroeconomic uncertainty, contending that they will be well-placed to benefit when the market recovers.

CORPORATES
JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES PLC – ASX JHX, THE AZEC COMPANY INCORPORATED

Woodside swoops with US gas deal

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 15 & 19 : 23-Jul-24

Woodside Energy will increase its presence in the US after securing a $US1.2bn ($1.79bn) deal to acquire Tellurian, which is developing an LNG export terminal in Louisiana. Tellurian’s Driftwood terminal is expected to have annual export capacity of about 27.6 million tonnes, which is significantly higher than Woodside’s annual production in Australia. Woodside expects to make a final investment decision on the Driftwood project by the end of 2025, and says the facility could be operational before the end of this decade. Tellurian is said to have invested more than $US1bn in the project to date.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS, TELLURIAN INCORPORATED

Worley bulks up in $4.6bn US expansion

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 16 & 28 : 23-Oct-18

WorleyParsons will acquire the resources arms of US engineering firm Jacobs in a transaction valued at $4.6 billion. WorleyParsons CEO Andrew Wood says the deal, which is hoped to be completed in the first half of 2019, will create the world’s biggest provider of professional engineering services to the mining, oil and gas sectors. The transaction will see Jacobs acquire a stake of around 11 per cent in WorleyParsons, while Wood says he does not expect the deal to result in any major job losses across the two businesses.

CORPORATES
WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, JACOBS ENGINEERING GROUP INCORPORATED, DAR GROUP

Syrah’s battery hopes hit US hurdle

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 11-Jan-18

Australian-listed Syrah Resources is confident that it will be able to secure a new site for its proposed graphite beneficiation plant in the US. The South Tangipahoa Parish Port Commission has terminated Syrah’s lease over the site in New Orleans where it had proposed to build the plant, after local residents expressed concern about the plant’s potential impact on air and water quality. Syrah will consider other sites in the state of Louisiana, and it remains hopeful of achieving its previously-stated target for commencing production.

CORPORATES
SYRAH RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SYR, SOUTH TANGIPAHOA PARISH PORT COMMISSION, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, HILL END GOLD LIMITED – ASX HEG

Oil Search reassures on Alaskan project funding

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 15-Dec-17

Oil Search CEO Peter Botten says a recent $US400m deal to acquire stakes in several oil fields in Alaska was necessary due to the expected long delay in commencing each phase of its LNG project in Papua New Guinea. He has stressed that the investment in Alaska will have no impact on its commitment to the PNG LNG project. He has also indicated that Oil Search will not need to undertake an equity raising to finance either project.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, REPSOL SA

Aristocrat Leisure lands games giant Big Fish for $1.3 billion

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 1-Dec-17

Aristocrat Leisure’s push to reduce its reliance on poker machine sales continued on 30 November with its announcement that it had acquired US social gaming firm Big Fish Gaming for $US900 million ($A1.3 billion). The purchase will increase the percentage of its revenue that comes from digital sources to around 38 per cent, and follows its August purchase of Israeli-based game developer Plarium. Aristocrat also handed down its 2017 fiscal year results on 30 November, reporting a net profit of $A495 million, up 41 per cent, earned on revenue of about $A2.4 billion.

CORPORATES
ARISTOCRAT LEISURE LIMITED – ASX ALL, BIG FISH GAMING INCORPORATED, PLARIUM LLC, CHURCHILL DOWNS, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, VIDEO GAMING TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED

QBE makes first insurtech play

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Original article by Alice Uribe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 27-Oct-17

QBE Insurance Group has invested in US artificial intelligence firm RiskGenius, with QBE executive Bob James saying it will help the insurer to develop new products more rapidly. The investment in RiskGenius is the first to be made via QBE’s $US50 million ($A64.85 million) "insurtech" fund. QBE CEO John Neal said at the time of the fund’s launch in March that its investments would focus on data analytics.

CORPORATES
QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, RISKGENIUS, CB INSIGHTS

CSL buys way into cell, gene therapy

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 19 : 29-Aug-17

CSL has announced that it will spend $US91 million ($A114 million) on the purchase of US-based biotechnology company Calimmune. CSL executive Andrew Nash says the purchase of Calimmune gives it access to skills and technologies in the area of gene and cell-based therapies that it does not currently have. He said that CSL has had its eye on Calimmune, which has operations in both the US and Australia, for about a year.

CORPORATES
CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, CALIMMUNE INCORPORATED

Recycling of assets ‘getting through’ to US

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 15 : 18-Jul-17

IFM Investors CEO Brett Himbury says the Australian superannuation investor is keen to be involved if the US gets serious about infrastructure asset recycling. Himbury recently visited the US, where he met with officials from a number of states with the potential to be involved in the sale of infrastructure assets in order to raise funds for new infrastructure investment. Goldman Sachs has previously noted that publicly-owned US toll roads alone are worth around $US120 billion.

CORPORATES
IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, THE CARLYLE GROUP