CORPORATE DIVESTITURE – AUSTRALIA

Wesfarmers dismisses Bunnings spin-off talk

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 22-Nov-17

New Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott says he has no plans to spin off Bunnings, the home improvement chain regarded as its most important asset. Scott says while he has people telling him he should spin off Bunnings, he gets just as many people telling him that Wesfarmers should retain it. Bunnings accounts for just 30 per cent of Wesfarmers’ group earnings, but is reckoned to be worth $A23 billion, almost half of Wesfarmers’ overall market value of $A48 billion. Scott concedes Bunnings’ expansion into the UK has not been as successful to date as was hoped, but he is confident that UK consumers will eventually embrace its format.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AIRLIE FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Fairfax goes it alone as investors back Domain split

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 21 : 3-Nov-17

The majority of Fairfax shareholders at its 2017 annual meeting voted in favour of demerging the Domain property listings business. Fairfax will retain a 60 per cent stake in Domain, while shareholders will receive one share in Domain for every 10 Fairfax shares that they own. Meanwhile, Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood has stressed that the company’s print newspapers will continue to be published for some time, while chairman Nick Falloon indicated that Fairfax would be open to merger deals following the relaxation of cross-media ownership laws.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TRONC INCORPORATED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

BHP to take hard look at asset sales

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 21 : 26-Oct-17

BHP Billiton may consider further asset sales under CEO Andrew Mackenzie and chairman Ken MacKenzie. BHP has previously flagged plans to divest its US shale assets, and other assets that could potentially be sold include its one-sixth stake in the North West Shelf LNG project, thermal coal mines, nickel mines in Western Australia and its potash project in Canada. The North West Shelf project was the biggest contributor to the earnings of BHP’s petroleum division in 2016.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION

Evolution offloads Edna May mine to Ramelius for $90m

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 19-Sep-17

Evolution Mining has secured a deal to sell its Edna May gold mine to Ramelius Resources for $A90m. Evolution will receive an upfront payment of $A40m for the mine, while the deal also comprises an additional cash or scrip component and royalty payments. Ramelius MD Mark Zeptner says the company will consider expanding Edna May via either underground or open pit mining. The royalty payments will depend on which option Ramelius chooses, and these payments will not begin until production exceeds 200,000 ounces.

CORPORATES
EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, RAMELIUS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RMS, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Evolution mulls offers for Edna May gold mine

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 13-Sep-17

Evolution Mining has advised that it has received several offers from prospective buyers of the Edna May gold mine in Western Australia. Minjar Gold, which bought Evolution’s Pajingo mine in 2016, is believed to be among the companies to have expressed interest in Edna May. The mine had significantly lower EBITDA than Evolution’s two major mines in 2016-17, while its output for the financial year was 70,188 ounces.

CORPORATES
EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, MINJAR GOLD PTY LTD, NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, WESTGOLD RESOURCES LIMITED, KIDMAN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX KDR, SOCIEDAD QUIMICA Y MINERA SA, HANKING GOLD MINING PTY LTD, ARGONAUT SECURITIES PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

BHP pledges dividend windfall

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 23-Aug-17

BHP Billiton has posted a 2016-17 net profit of $US5.89bn, compared with a loss of $US6.34bn previously, while its underlying profit rose from $US1.215bn to $US6.732bn. The resources group reduced its net debt by $US9.8bn during the financial year, to $US16bn. BHP has flagged plans to divest its US shale assets, with CEO Andrew Mackenzie indicating that the sale of individual assets is preferable to an IPO of the entire business. BHP has also ruled out further investment in the Jansen potash project in the near-term.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION

Fairfax steps up Domain hard sell

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Original article by Scott Murdoch
The Australian – Page: 24 : 10-Jul-17

Domain is losing market share to REA Group in some markets, which may make it harder for Fairfax Media directors to convince shareholders to back a proposed demerger of the property listings business. Demergers also have a chequered history in Australia. Analysis by Credit Suisse in 2015 shows that spin-offs generally perform well in their first six months as a separately-listed company, while there is typically no significant benefit for shareholders of the parent company during this period.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, TRADE ME GROUP LIMITED – ASX TME, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, NZME LIMITED – ASX NZM, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD, ADSHEL PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, PAPERLINX LIMITED – ASX PPX, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, CSR LIMITED – ASX CSR, RINKER GROUP LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD

BHP chair under pressure to demerge oil assets

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 31 : 7-Jul-17

Paul Gait of Bernstein notes that BHP Billiton has underperformed since it spun off South32, and he says demerging its petroleum division would boost the value of its core mining business. Meanwhile, Paul Young of Deutsche Bank says BHP should revise its strategy under incoming chairman Ken MacKenzie, including putting a limit on capital expenditure and setting productivity targets for its iron ore and coking coal operations. Shares in BHP have shed 1.5 per cent so far in 2017, while Rio Tinto has gained 7.5 per cent.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BERNSTEIN INVESTMENT RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION

BHP could spin off petroleum: analyst

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 6-Jul-17

Bernstein analyst Paul Gait says BHP Billiton could potentially divest its petroleum and potash assets under incoming chairman Ken MacKenzie. Several institutional investors support a proposal by activist hedge fund Elliott Management for BHP to spin off its US petroleum division. Gait suggests that MacKenzie may be more objective about BHP’s future strategy given his lack of experience in the mining sector.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BERNSTEIN INVESTMENT RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT, ELLIOTT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, TRIBECA GLOBAL NATURAL RESOURCES FUND, ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Private equity walks away from Fairfax

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Original article by Max Mason, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 3-Jul-17

TPG Capital will not proceed with a $A2.7bn bid for Fairfax Media after undertaking due diligence. Rival private equity suitor Hellman & Friedman had not submitted a binding bid by the deadline of 30 June, and Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood has indicated that the media group will now press ahead with its proposal to spin off the Domain property listings business. Thorney Investment Group chairman Alex Waislitz supports the demerger plan, and he has previously forecast that Domain’s EBITDA could rise from around $A115m at present to at least $A200m in the future.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, DOMAIN.COM.AU, THORNEY INVESTMENT GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS