MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS – AUSTRALIA

Super sector should shrink 80pc: report

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 25-May-20

Management consulting firm Right Lane contends that a major rationalisation of Australia’s superannuation sector is necessary. Associate principal Abhishek Chhikara suggests that there is scope for 3-5 large "generalist" funds and 7-10 niche funds that are focused on specific industries or types of super products. Right Lane estimates that a super fund needs a minimum of 500,000 active members in order to operate efficiently, and ideally they should have between one and two million active members. The firm expects the pandemic to increase the pressure on smaller funds.

CORPORATES
RIGHT LANE CONSULTING

BGH bid to take Village Roadshow private

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Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 19-May-20

Shares in theme parks and cinemas operator Village Roadshow rose 17 per cent to $2.09 on 18 May after it advised that private equity firm BGH Capital is in discussions to acquire it for up to $468.5 million. BGH’s due diligence on Village is expected to take four weeks, and its bid is subject to a number of conditions, including obtaining Foreign Investment Review Board approval and securing debt financing. As well as advising of BGH’s offer, Village provided an trading update which noted that it only had $58 million in cash at the end of April.

CORPORATES
VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, BGH CAPITAL PTY LTD

News Corp in talks to sell off regional papers

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 11-May-20

Australian Community Media may be poised to acquire some or all of News Corp Australia’s regional and community newspapers. ACM already owns a large portfolio of regional newspapers, and it is said to have been holding talks with News Corp about a deal for some time. Both companies have put the print editions of some mastheads on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. News Corp is expected to retain some regional mastheads, including the ‘NT News’ if a deal proceeds.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA

Bauer sacks 60 Pacific Magazines staff

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: Online : 5-May-20

Bauer Media is believed to have retrenched employees at Pacific Magazines and put the print editions of some titles on hold just days after taking control of the former Seven West Media business. Some 60 jobs at Pacific Magazines are said to have been cut, following Bauer’s recent move to stand down or lay off about 140 of its own employees. ‘InStyle’, ‘Men’s Health’ and ‘Women’s Health’ are among the Pacific Magazines titles that have been affected.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BAUER MEDIA KG, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Mag queen tips Bauer will axe Pacific titles

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 4-May-20

Bauer Media completed a $40m deal to acquire Seven West Media’s Pacific Magazines division on 1 May. Magazine industry veteran Deborah Thomas expects Bauer to suspend the print editions of some Pacific titles due to the coronavirus-induced downturn in the advertising market. Four of the print editions of Bauer’s own titles were recently put on hold, and some industry executives doubt that several of them will resume publication. Bauer has also stood down or laid off up to 140 employees in Australia, while its New Zealand operations were shut down in April.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, BAUER MEDIA KG, BAUER MEDIA (NZ) LIMITED

Virgin bidders set to team up after talks

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Original article by Patrick Durkin, Liam Walsh, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 4-May-20

Virgin Australia’s administrators Deloitte stated on 30 April that 20 parties had expressed an interest in buying the failed airline. However, that number could fall to around a dozen or less, following recent talks between potential bidders about the possibility of joining forces. Private equity firm BGH is said to be in discussion with AustralianSuper about a possible deal, with Singapore’s state owned investment fund Temasek also said to be involved in their talks. Other potential bidders include US private equity fund Indigo Partners and mining magnate Andrew Forrest, with Forrest possibly teaming up with David Baxby, the former aide of Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, as Baxby and Forrest have close ties.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, BGH CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, INDIGO PARTNERS LLC, TEMASEK HOLDINGS (PTE) LTD, VIRGIN GROUP LIMITED

ACCC approves eBay car ads deal

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 15 : 1-May-20

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has approved eBay’s purchase of Cox Automotive Media Solutions, which owns the Carsguide and Autotrader websites. The transaction, which was announced in December, will see eBay combine its Gumtree Australia operations with those of Cox Automotive Media. The ACCC noted that Carsales and Facebook Marketplace both provide significant competition to the Gumtree and Cox Media businesses.

CORPORATES
EBAY AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND PTY LTD, EBAY INCORPORATED, CARSGUIDE, AUTOTRADER, COX AUTOMOTIVE MEDIA SOLUTIONS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GUMTREE.COM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Stanmore called on to pay out dividend

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 15-Apr-20

Golden Investments has lifted its stake in Australian-listed Stanmore Coal to 51 per cent since launching a new takeover bid earlier in April. Stanmore has advised shareholders to take no action pending a recommendation from its board; however, Sandon Capital analyst Campbell Morgan expects the bid to succeed and argues that Stanmore should pay a special dividend of $0.28 per share to use its remaining franking credits. Golden Investments previously made a takeover bid for Stanmore in 2019.

CORPORATES
STANMORE COAL LIMITED – ASX SMR, GOLDEN INVESTMENTS (AUSTRALIA) PTE LTD, SANDON CAPITAL PTY LTD

Morgan emerges as possible AAP buyer

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 23-Mar-20

Roy Morgan’s executive chairman Gary Morgan has expressed interest in buying the whole of Australian Associated Press, but only if the news wire service is a "viable business proposition". Morgan notes that AAP would have to be a "a very different company" without Nine Entertainment and News Corp Australia as customers, given that they account for about 60 per cent of its revenue. Media reports have indicated that a number of parties have expressed interest in buying some of AAP’s businesses, although CEO Bruce Davidson stresses that a deal may not eventuate. AAP is slated to shut down in June unless a buyer emerges.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS PTY LTD, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Forrest in $68m renewables play takeover

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 20 : 5-Mar-20

Squadron Energy, the private company of mining magnate Andrew Forrest, has made a takeover bid for Windlab, a listed wind farm developer and operator. Squadron has teamed up with Federation Asset Management to offer $1 per share for Windlab, valuing the bid at $68.2m. Windlab shares rallied on 4 March, closing at $0.965; investors had paid $2 per share in its 2017 IPO. Squadron is expected to have a 75 per cent stake in Windlab if the deal proceeds.

CORPORATES
WINDLAB LIMITED – ASX WND, SQUADRON ENERGY PTY LTD, FEDERATION ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD