INSURANCE COMPANIES – AUSTRALIA

Medibank on the way to $3

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 7-Jan-15

The shares of Medibank Private on 6 January 2015 closed 1.7% lower at $A2.35. The health insurer was recently floated with an issue price of $A2.15 for institutional investors and $A2 for small retail ones. Most analysts have placed negative or neutral recommendations on the stock, and the consensus price target is $A2.30. However Tim Lawson of Macquarie Bank is more bullish with $A2.62 and a "buy" rating, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Toby Langley also recommends accumulating the stock and predicts it to reach $A3

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN

Lindt siege payouts may depend on terrorist decision

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Original article by Mathew Dunckley, Lisa Visentin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 5-Jan-15

The Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation is empowered by law to gauge the losses incurred by businesses in a terrorism event. It can also, if appropriate, reduce the liability of insurance companies in such cases, and providers including Insurance Australia Group are waiting for a decision by the Federal Government on the 15-16 December 2014 siege at the Lindt Cafe in Sydney’s Martin Place. Some small businesses have lodged claims under optional business disruption clauses, and will need to find out whether the siege is indeed deemed a terrorist act

CORPORATES
INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, AUSTRALIAN REINSURANCE POOL CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LINDT AND SPRUNGLI (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL RETAILERS ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, CGU INSURANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, LUMLEY INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED, WFI INSURANCE

Win for consumers as premiums to weaken

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Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 16-Dec-14

Suncorp Group’s Anthony Day says a competitive market should result in lower commercial insurance premiums in 2015. The head of commercial insurance forecasts that insurance rates will stabilise after falling in the first several months of 2015. Meanwhile, Day says the recent storm in Brisbane is likely to cost Suncorp no more than $A250m in insurance claims

CORPORATES
SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, NATIONAL INSURANCE BROKERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA, WILLIS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED

Low premium rises tipped

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Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 15-Dec-14

Insurance Australia Group’s Andy Cornish says the storm that hit Brisbane in late November 2014 should not have much impact on premiums. He forecasts a single-digit increase in its premiums for home and car insurance in 2015. The general insurer has received more than 15,000 claims arising from the storm, and it expects to pay out between $A140m and $A150m

CORPORATES
INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, NRMA LIMITED, CGU INSURANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, LUMLEY INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED, COLES INSURANCE

The price was right, says Cormann

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 27-Nov-14

Shares in Medibank Private closed 2.1 per cent lower at $A2.10 on 26 November 2014, after peaking at $A2.23 on debut in the previous trading session. Federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann believes that the pricing of the IPO was appropriate, and has benefited both taxpayers and investors who bought shares in the float. The Australian Government is widely tipped to pursue further asset sales

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEFENCE HOUSING AUSTRALIA

A lot of fizz but no pop for Medibank IPO

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Original article by Jessica Gardner, Joyce Moullakis, Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 26-Nov-14

Medibank Private’s stock closed at $A2.14 on 25 November 2014, after peaking at $A2.23 on its first day of trading. Retail investors paid $A2 per share in the $A5.7bn IPO, while institutional investors paid $A2.15. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the stock was priced appropriately, but Glenn Rosewall of BBY says Medibank shares were priced higher than some market watchers had anticipated. The Federal Government is considering the privatisation of more public assets

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, BBY LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIA. DEFENCE HOUSING AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA POST, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, JAPARA HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX JHC, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, NATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK, AHM HEALTH INSURANCE, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, MARTIN CURRIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Medibank IPO fee pool not as lucrative for key bankers

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 25-Nov-14

The three banks that were lead managers for the $A5.7bn IPO of Medibank Private will be collectively paid $A19.7m in fees. They will each receive a base management fee of $A5m, as well as incentive fees. The total fees associated with the IPO tops $A36m when the fees paid to law firms and other advisers are taken into account. IPOs of government-owned businesses are typically less lucrative for bankers, but they tend to be attracted to such floats for the prestige and the potential for similar work in the future

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, LAZARD PTY LTD, REUNION CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, ERNST AND YOUNG, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, BELL FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX BFG, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, UBS WEALTH MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Medibank pressure to perform

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 24-Nov-14

The Australian Government will gain $A5.7bn from the sale of Medibank Private, after the institutional bookbuild price was set at $A2.15 per share. Jan van der Schalk of CLSA values the health fund at between $A1.55 and $A1.64 per share, noting that Medibank’s management will face a lot of pressure to achieve results due to the high issue price for the stock. Retail investors will pay $A2 per share for Medibank stock, which will debut on the sharemarket on 25 November 2014

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ARGO INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX ARG, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN ETHICAL INVESTMENT LIMITED – ASX AEF, JAPARA HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX JHC, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO

NAB hires Deloitte ahead of stepping up life division sale

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 20-Nov-14

Financial market analysts estimate that the life insurance business of National Australia Bank (NAB) is worth around $A1.4bn. Deloitte has been hired to advise the banking major on options for the business, which could include selling all or part of it. Ross Curran of the Commonwealth Bank believes that NAB’s life business can be sold if it is offered at an appropriate price. The life business is part of NAB’s MLC division

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, MLC LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, METLIFE INSURANCE LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AXA ASIA PACIFIC HOLDINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, DAI-ICHI LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, NIPPON LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, ZURICH INSURANCE COMPANY, AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP INCORPORATED, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Medibank float could raise $5.8b

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Original article by Jessica Gardner, Sarah Thompson, Jake Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 & 26 : 20-Nov-14

Strong demand for shares in the Medibank Private IPO has prompted the Australian Government to upgrade the indicative share price range. This was initially set at between $A1.55 and $A2, but will now be from $A2 to $A2.30. Some fund managers expect the final issue price to be set at $A2.10 per share, which would value the float at about $A5.8bn. Retail investors will pay a maximum of $A2 per share

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, QR NATIONAL LIMITED