DIVERSIFICATION IN INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Atlas Iron needs to diversify, says new chief Lawrenson

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 27-Apr-17

Atlas Iron MD Cliff Lawrenson says the proposed Corunna Downs mine remains the junior iron ore producer’s main priority. He adds that Atlas will seek to lift annual production to around 10-15 million tonnes over the long-term, but he notes that the company may need to diversify its operations to ensure that it avoids the financial problems that nearly caused its collapse in 2014. Rival iron ore producers BC Iron and Mount Gibson Iron are actively seeking to diversify.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, KALIUM LAKES LIMITED – ASX KLL, PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS

Explorers hoping to say the L-word

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 26-Apr-16

A growing number of Australian-listed resources groups are expanding into the lithium sector or shifting their focus to lithium in order to capitalise on demand for electric vehicles and rechargeable batteries. However, Andrew Shearer of PAC Partners cautions that many prospective lithium players are unlikely to advance to the development or production stages.

CORPORATES
PAC PARTNERS PTY LTD, PETRA CAPITAL PTY LTD, DAKOTA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX DKO, SEGUE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SEG, PIONEER RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX PIO, BIRIMIAN GOLD LIMITED – ASX BGS, CAENEUS MINERALS LIMITED – ASX CAD, ARDIDEN LIMITED – ASX ADV, CAZALY RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX CAZ, ARGONAUT RESOURCES FUND PTY LTD, CRUSADER RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX CAS, HANNANS REWARD LIMITED – ASX HNR, EVERLIGHT RESOURCES PTY LTD, KIDMAN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX KDR, WESTERN AREAS LIMITED – ASX WSA, PATERSONS SECURITIES LIMITED

Healthy Sigma set for acquisitions

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 21 : 24-Mar-16

Australian-listed Sigma Pharmaceuticals has posted a 2015 net profit of $A50.5m, which is 4.3 per cent lower than previously, although revenue rose by 10 per cent to $A3.5bn. CEO Mark Hooper notes that the proportion of Sigma’s revenue from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme has fallen in recent years due to the group’s push to diversify its sources of income. He has flagged acquisitions and identified expansion into the hospital pharmacy sector as a key growth strategy.

CORPORATES
SIGMA PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED – ASX SIP

Nine mulls a punt on fantasy betting market

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 25 : 8-Feb-16

Australian media companies are hoping to capitalise on the growing popularity of fantasy betting. Nine Entertainment Company is believed to be keen to enter the market, while News Corp Australia has had discussions with Moneyball. Meanwhile, Australian-listed TopBetta recently held talks with both News Corp and Seven West Media. Fantasy betting is also attracting interest from gambling companies such as CrownBet.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, MONEYBALL, TOPBETTA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TBH, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, CROWNBET PTY LTD, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, LADBROKES, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DRAFTKINGS, FANDUEL

Bauer targets Southern Cross

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Original article by Jake Mitchell, Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 23 : 23-Nov-15

Bauer Media is believed to be considering a takeover bid for Southern Cross Media Group in order to diversify its Australian business. Bauer approached rival radio group Nova Entertainment in 2014, but Nova has ruled out a sale. Southern Cross Media’s network of metropolitan and regional radio stations accounts for the bulk of its revenue, and Bauer is said to be keen to reduce its reliance on revenue from magazines. Bauer is the leading player in Europe’s radio sector.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA KG, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, SOUTHERN CROSS AUSTEREO PTY LTD, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, ACP MAGAZINES LIMITED, HIT NETWORK, TRIPLE M CORPORATION PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, ILLYRIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, KIIS1065, SMOOTHFM, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD

Law firms’ new threat: accountants

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Original article by Agnes King, Katie Walsh
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 41 : 22-Jul-15

Australia’s four major accounting firms are aggressively expanding into the legal services sector. Ernst & Young has assembled a 16-strong team of lawyers in Australia, while PricewaterhouseCoopers boasts about 120 lawyers. In the past, accounting firms have tended to focus on areas such as tax litigation, but they are increasingly expanding into areas such as property and employment law. There is speculation that this trend may prompt some law firms to give more of their accounting work to smaller firms at the expense of the "big four".

CORPORATES
ERNST AND YOUNG, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BAKER AND McKENZIE, ASHURST AUSTRALIA, K&L GATES LLP, DLA PIPER, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, BEATON RESEARCH AND CONSULTING PTY LTD, BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA, SOCIETY OF INDIAN LAW FIRMS

nib snares World Nomads

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 9-Jul-15

Australian-listed NIB Holdings has expanded into the travel insurance market with a $A95m deal to buy World Nomads Group. NIB MD Mark Fitzgibbon says World Nomads will complement the group’s core private health insurance business. World Nomads specialises in the distribution of travel insurance policies, and boasted normalised EBITDA of $A10m and revenue of $A117m in 2014-15.

CORPORATES
NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, WORLD NOMADS GROUP PTY LTD, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AIRBNB INCORPORATED, TRAVEL INSURANCE DIRECT PTY LTD, SURESAVE TRAVEL INSURANCE, LONELY PLANET PUBLICATIONS PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS

PwC woos lawyers with its promise of growth

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Original article by Katie Walsh
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 6-Mar-15

Australian accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers is continuing to recruit lawyers for its legal practice. The firm is targeting the corporate advisory, tax, workplace relations, projects and finance, and regulatory sectors of the legal market. The legal practice is headed by former King & Wood Mallesons partners Tony O’Malley and Tim Blue. Other major accounting firms are also expanding into legal services

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, MALLESONS STEPHEN JAQUES, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, GILBERT AND TOBIN LAWYERS, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MADDOCKS LAWYERS, DELOITTE LAWYERS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. BOARD OF TAXATION

IFM to invest in international equities

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 2-Mar-15

IFM Investors will expand into international shares, as part of its growing push to diversify beyond Australian asset classes. CEO Brett Himbury argues that the nation’s superannuation system needs to reduce its focus on the local sharemarket, noting that many of the group’s clients already have exposure to offshore equities. IFM began investing in overseas infrastructure assets several years ago

CORPORATES
IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, MAGELLAN FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX MFG, PLATINUM ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX PTM

AGL to lead the solar charge

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 21 : 17-Nov-14

Marc England, head of group strategy and new energy at AGL Energy, will on 17 November 2014 address the "Australian Utility Week" event. He will unveil a plan to invest in domestic solar power panels installations, storage batteries and smart meters, to enable some one million households to become independent of the electricity grid by 2020. The move is designed to ensure AGL’s continued relevance in a changing energy market. It is currently among the largest generators of power from coal-fired plants

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGK