INTERNET INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

SEEK buy-out of News Corp from Asia arm makes sense

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 6-Mar-18

Online jobs advertiser SEEK will pay $A157 million to buy News Corp’s 13.75 per cent stake in its Asian business. SEEK CEO Andrew Bassat says News Corp had been a "great partner", and that moving to 100 per cent ownership of SEEK Asia "just made sense". SEEK will use existing debt facilities to fund the transaction, which is due to be completed by 16 March. SEEK had revenue of $A620.3 million for the first half 2017-18, of which its international businesses contributed $A340.1 million.

CORPORATES
SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, SEEK ASIA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Auto classifieds firm fancies $1b opportunities offshore

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 10-Aug-17

Carsales.com.au has posted a 2016-17 net profit of $A109.5m, compared with $A109.3m previously. The listed automotive classified advertising group’s revenue increased by eight per cent to $A372.1m and EBITDA totalled $A176.5m. CEO Cameron McIntyre says the group’s international division could eventually contribute more earnings and revenue than its Australian business. He flags emerging markets such as Asia and Latin America as those offering the best growth potential for its international division.

CORPORATES
CARSALES.COM LIMITED – ASX CAR, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, TYRESALES.COM, REDBOOK

Digital classifieds under the pump

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Original article by Stewart Oldfield
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 3-May-17

Deutsche Bank estimates that based on forecast earnings for 2018, online classified advertising companies REA Group, Seek and Carsales are trading at a 70 per cent premium to the broader industrial sector. However, while rising share prices have seen their combined market capitalisation top $A17bn, the three dominant players in real estate, jobs and automotive classifieds face potential headwinds, including competition from new and established rivals and a growing threat from social media companies such as Facebook.

CORPORATES
REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, SEEK LEARNING PTY LTD, CARSALES.COM LIMITED – ASX CAR, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, DOMAIN.COM.AU, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, COX AUTOMOTIVE, AUTOTRADER, CARSGUIDE, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MAVERICK STRATEGIES, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MONSTER WORLDWIDE INCORPORATED, INDEED INCORPORATED, CAREERBUILDER, RANDSTAD HOLDINGS NV

SEEK flags aggressive reinvestment, acquisitions

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 23-Aug-16

Australian-listed SEEK has posted a 2015-16 net profit of $A357m, which is 27 per cent higher than previously. However, this was boosted by the sale of a 50 per cent stake in IDP Education, and SEEK’s underlying profit rose by three per cent to $A198.1m. EBITDA was five per cent higher than previously at $A366.7, and group revenue increased by 11 per cent to $A950.4m. Shareholders will receive a final dividend of $A0.19 per share.

CORPORATES
SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, IDP EDUCATION LIMITED – ASX IEL, HYPERION ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, SIDEKICKER, WORKANA, NIMBLE SOFTWARE SYSTEMS, JORA, JOBADDER, ZHAOPIN LIMITED

SEEK invests in online sidekick for temp staff

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 37 : 4-Jul-16

Australian-listed SEEK has acquired a stake in Sidekicker, a start-up that enables businesses to hire temporary staff at short notice. The online marketplace was founded in 2012, and now offers a database of some 3,000 temporary workers. SEEK’s Michael Ilczynski stresses that the types of positions that are advertised on Sidekicker are rarely advertised on his company’s website.

CORPORATES
SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, SIDEKICKER, NIMBLE SOFTWARE SYSTEMS

NBN must find $26.5b to fund cost increases

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 25-Aug-15

NBN has revealed a 36.6 per cent blowout in costs to $A56 billion, up from the $A41 billion previously forecast for the national broadband rollout. As the government’s funding cap of $A29.5 billion has not increased, NBN will have to raise up to $A26.5 billion from other sources.

CORPORATES
NBN CO LIMITED, M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU, DODO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PRIMUS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

SEEK misses the mark, shares tumble 8.7pc

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

Listed online jobs advertising group SEEK has posted a 2014-15 interim underlying after-tax net profit of $A94.1m, which is nine per cent higher than previously. The group’s underlying revenue was 17 per cent higher at $A395.3m, and shareholders will receive an interim dividend of $A0.19 per share. Justin Diddams of Citigroup says the underlying profit result was disappointing, and his firm has a "sell" recommendation on the stock

CORPORATES
SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, HYPERION ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, JOBSTREET CORPORATION BERHAD

Fare’s fair: Uber’s plea for reform

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 19 : 29-Oct-14

Niall Wass, ­senior vice-president Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific at online chauffeur car bookings business Uber, has called for greater deregulation of the sector in Australia. He urged state governments to cease fining Uber drivers, who operate in competition to the incumbent taxicabs industry. Under particular scrutiny is the UberX service that allows private vehicle owners to offer ride sharing at about a 50% discount to taxi fares. Wass noted that the state of California in the US has created a new licensing system to cater to emerging businesses like Uber

CORPORATES
UBER TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED, NEW SOUTH WALES. ROADS AND MARITIME SERVICES, LYFT INCORPORATED, SIDE.CR LLC, TAXIS COMBINED SERVICES PTY LTD, SILVER TOP TAXI SERVICE LIMITED

Google, PwC’s global alliance

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Original article by Agnes King
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 29-Oct-14

Luke Sayers, CEO in Australia for global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), has announced a new alliance with web search engine services group Google. The latter’s enterprise MD in Australia, Kevin Ackhurst, notes that while both entities are still free to strike deals with the respective partner’s rivals as well, in some areas there will be an exclusive arrangement. The aim of the new collaboration is to offer consulting services to businesses affected by digital disruption. PwC will also resell and install Google’s Apps for Work suite of office software products

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, QUATTRO SYSTEMS PTY LTD

Carsales.com looks at iCar Asia takeover

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Original article by Gretchen Friemann
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 11-Sep-14

Australian-listed Carsales.com currently holds a 22.9 per cent stake in iCar Asia. Rev Asia Berhad’s decision to offload its 27.2 per cent holding in iCar has prompted speculation that Carsales.com could launch a bid for control of the business. Carsales.com is keen to expand its international presence due to its limited growth opportunities in Australia, where it is the leading player in the automotive classified advertising sector

CORPORATES
CARSALES.COM LIMITED – ASX CRZ, ICAR ASIA LIMITED – ASX ICQ, REV ASIA BERHAD, CATCHA MEDIA BERHAD, CATCHA GROUP, IPROPERTY GROUP LIMITED – ASX IPP, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, JOBSTREET CORPORATION BERHAD, ZHAOPIN LIMITED