MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS – AUSTRALIA

Mixed messages on Prime-Seven merger

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 25 : 18-Nov-19

An independent expert’s report from Lonergan Edwards & Associates has backed Seven West Media’s takeover bid for regional affiliate Prime Media Group. The firm has concluded that the deal is ‘not fair but reasonable’, noting that Prime shareholders would gain exposure to a much larger and more diverse media company. Lonergan adds that the deal is in the best interests of Prime shareholders in the absence of a better offer. Seven estimates that the merger will generate annual cost synergies of about $11m.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WENTWORTH, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, LONERGAN EDWARDS AND ASSOCIATES LIMITED, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD

New mega union swings Labor to left

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 11-Nov-19

The new United Workers Union will boast more than 150,000 members and a potential membership base of two million. The merger of United Voice and the National Union of Workers will be formally completed on 11 November. The new union will be aligned with Labor’s Left faction, whereas the NUW was aligned with the Right. The new union will have a national body rather than autonomous state branches.

CORPORATES
UNITED WORKERS UNION, UNITED VOICE, NATIONAL UNION OF WORKERS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Independence makes $312m hostile bid

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 5-Nov-19

Nickel miner Independence Group is offering one of its shares for every share in Panoramic Resources, valuing the takeover target at $0.476 per share. Independence MD Peter Bradford says Panoramic had previously rejected several approaches regarded a friendly merger, prompting the hostile bid. Bradford anticipates further consolidation among nickel miners, and he expects the recent rise in the price of nickel to be sustained.

CORPORATES
INDEPENDENCE GROUP NL – ASX IGO, PANORAMIC RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX PAN, ZETA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ZER, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Cat’s plan for regional powerhouse

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich, John Durie
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 28 : 31-Oct-19

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will scrutinise Seven West Media’s takeover bid for regional affiliate Prime Media Group, with a decision on the $64m deal to be made on 18 December. Meanwhile, Antony Catalano and Alex Waislitz have built a 10.26 per cent stake in Prime, which would prevent Seven from compulsorily acquiring the company. Catalano says the Seven deal is not in the best interests of regional media. Catalano has also revealed that he held merger talks with Prime Media earlier in 2019. Catalano and Waislitz recently bought Nine Entertainment’s regional newspapers.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, THORNEY INVESTMENT GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SPHERIA ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, WA CHESS INVESTMENTS

Nine chases NZ media assets in QMS carve-up

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Original article by Bridget Carter, Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 30-Oct-19

QMS Media’s board has recommended that shareholders accept a cash offer of $1.22 per share from Quadrant Private Equity, in the latest deal in Australia’s outdoor advertising sector. Meanwhile, Nine Entertainment Company has declined to comment on speculation that it could be interested in buying some of QMS’s assets in New Zealand, including radio stations and its outdoor advertising business. QMS has a 40 per cent stake in MediaWorks, which owns New Zealand TV stations such as TV3 and Bravo, and radio stations such as Magic and The Edge.

CORPORATES
QMS MEDIA LIMITED – ASX QMS, QUADRANT PRIVATE EQUITY PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MEDIAWORKS (NZ) LIMITED, TV3 NETWORK LIMITED, BRAVO, MAGIC, THE EDGE, OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, KKR AND COMPANY LP, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, NZME LIMITED – ASX NZM, STUFF LIMITED, JC DECAUX SA, APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED, ADSHEL PTY LTD, HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1

Seven West deal tests media diversity

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 22 : 23-Oct-19

Seven West Media’s proposed acquisition of regional affiliate Prime Media Group will attract scrutiny by the Australian Communications & Media Authority. ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin says the deal will be assessed in terms of whether it will reduce the number of media ‘voices’ in the Western Australian market and the application of the ‘two-to-a-market rule’. Seven West Media also publishes newspapers in Perth and regional areas.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, REDWAVE MEDIA LIMITED, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL

Why bitter magazine rivals Bauer, Pacific are poised to unite

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 21-Oct-19

There is general agreement within the media industry that the proposed sale of Pacific Magazines to Bauer Media Australia is necessary for the two businesses to be sustainable. Both publishers have been hard hit by the decline in advertising revenue and circulation over the last 10 years. Magazines now account for just one per cent of the industry’s advertising revenue, compared with seven per cent in 2009. Meanwhile, Bauer’s revenue fell 13.7 per cent to $224.3m in 2018, while Pacific Magazines’ revenue fell 7.2 per cent to $129.4m in 2018-19. Sources have suggested that a deal could be struck within days.

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

IOOF to push ahead with buyout of ANZ’s wealth arm

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 21 : 18-Oct-19

Shares in wealth manager IOOF Holdings rallied on 17 October after it moved a step closer to completing a deal to acquire the ANZ Bank’s OnePath pensions and investments division. IOOF has advised that it will pay just $850m for the business if it gains regulatory approval by 30 June. This represents a 13 per cent discount to the previously agreed purchase price. Meanwhile, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has indicated that it will not appeal a recent Federal Court decision that cleared five IOOF executives and directors of misconduct.

CORPORATES
IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ONEPATH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Santos seizes Australian oil and gas crown

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 15-Oct-19

Santos expects a $US1.39bn deal to acquire the northern Australia assets of ConocoPhillips to boost its earnings by about 16 per cent. The deal includes the US group’s controlling stake in the Darwin LNG plant, as well as its interests in the Bayu-Undan, Barossa and Poseidon gas fields. Santos will now surpass Woodside Petroleum as Australia’s biggest oil and gas producer. ConocoPhillips still has a 37.5 per cent stake in the Australia Pacific LNG project in Queensland.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, CONOCOPHILLIPS, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, QUADRANT ENERGY PTY LTD, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, WOOD MACKENZIE, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Carnegie finally tunes out of Macquarie

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 8-Oct-19

Nine Entertainment Company has reached the 90 per cent threshold to compulsorily acquire Macquarie Media, after venture capitalist Mark Carnegie accepted the offer of $1.46 per share. Carnegie says he had no option other than agreeing to the Nine deal, and he adds that radio – and news talk radio in particular – is a powerful media that will be a good fit for Nine’s other media assets. Nine CEO Hugh Marks has also stressed the power of talk radio and says he is looking forward to working with the Macquarie team.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED