MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS – AUSTRALIA

Super Retail punished for $134m Macpac buy

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 19 : 21-Feb-18

Super Retail Group has reported a 2017-18 interim net profit of $A72.2m, which is three per cent lower than previously and below analysts’ forecasts. Group sales rose by 2.2 per cent to $A1.323bn, although its BCF and Rays businesses underperformed. Meanwhile, Super Retail’s shares closed 14.5 per cent lower on 20 February after the group revealed plans to acquire outdoor adventurewear retailer Macpac for $A134m. Shareholders will receive an interim dividend of $A0.215 per share.

CORPORATES
SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, BCF BOATING CAMPING FISHING, RAYS, MACPAC WILDERNESS EQUIPMENT, SUPER CHEAP AUTO, REBEL SPORT LIMITED

Health merger takes on majors

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 20-Feb-18

Health insurance industry leaders forecast further consolidation in the sector after HCF and HBF revealed plans to merge. They are currently Australia’s two largest not-for-profit health funds, and the merged entity would boast $A4bn worth of assets, about 2.5 million members and a market share of around 18.4 per cent. HBF CEO John Van Der Wielen says the merged group would have a greater chance of ensuring that premium increases are kept in line with the inflation rate. He adds that both funds have had the industry’s lowest premium increases in 2018.

CORPORATES
THE HOSPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS FUND OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, HBF HEALTH LIMITED, BUPA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Landlord tougher than Lowy

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 33 : 20-Feb-18

Unibail-Rodamco owns EUR42.5 billion ($A66 billion) worth of shopping centres across Europe. CEO Christophe Cuvillier notes that it weeds out 10 per cent of its poorest-performing tenants every year. Cuvillier says he is unsure if any other shopping centre operates in such a manner. He is currently in Australia to speak with Westfield Corporation and Unibail-Rodamco investors in order to convince them of the merits of his company’s $A33bn bid for Westfield.

CORPORATES
UNIBAIL-RODAMCO, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NM ROTHSCHILD AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, L’OREAL SA

Telstra seeks Foxtel merger finetune

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Original article by Darren Davidson, Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 20 : 16-Feb-18

The Foreign Investment Review Board and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission have approved the merger of Fox Sports and Foxtel. However, Telstra CEO Andy Penn says there are still some fine points to be worked out. Telstra’s stake in the merged entity will fall from 50 per cent to 35 per cent, with News Corporation to own 65 per cent. News and Telstra have indicated that they hope to complete the Foxtel-Fox Sports merger by the end of March. Meanwhile, Foxtel has reported 1.7 per cent growth in subscribers during the six months to December 2017.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

Woodside in $2.5b raising for LNG growth

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 15-Feb-18

Woodside Petroleum has advised that its profit for 2017 rose by 18 per cent to $US1.024bn. Meanwhile, the group will have a 75 per cent stake in the Scarborough gas field after striking a deal to acquire ExxonMobil’s 50 per cent interest in the undeveloped asset for $US744m. Woodside will finance the acquisition via a $A2.5bn capital raising. BHP Billiton holds the remaining 25 per cent stake in Scarborough, and it could potentially exercise its pre-emptive right to buy ExxonMobil’s stake.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, BERNSTEIN INVESTMENT RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT, WOOD MACKENZIE, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Upbeat Miller sets digital course

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 12-Feb-18

News Corp Australia boasted 389,600 digital subscribers at the end of the December 2017 quarter, an increase of 26 per cent year-on-year. Executive chairman Michael Miller describes digital subscriptions as a "huge opportunity" for the media group, noting that this market is recording annual growth of 20 per cent. Millers adds that the merger between Foxtel and Fox Sports is progressing, while he also says News Corp is open to mergers and acquisitions, including free-to-air TV networks.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL MEDIA, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Mitsui set to snare AWE as MinRes yields

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 5-Feb-18

Japan-listed Mitsui is poised to acquire Australian-listed oil and gas producer AWE Limited after Mineral Resources chose not to match Mitsui’s cash bid of $A602m. Shares in AWE closed at $A0.985 on 2 February, compared with Mitsui’s offer of $A0.95 per share. AWE’s key asset is its 50 per cent stake in the Waitsia gas field in Western Australia. Beach Energy also owns 50 per cent of Waitsia, although it is not expected to launch a bid for AWE.

CORPORATES
AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, CHINA ENERGY RESERVE AND CHEMICAL GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, AUSTRALIA. TAKEOVERS PANEL

Beach watchful amid AWE takeover war

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 1-Feb-18

The board of AWE Limited has given Mineral Resources three days to match the $A602m cash offer from rival suitor Mitsui. Meanwhile, Beach Energy CEO Matt Kay has declined to comment on whether his company could join in the bidding war for AWE. The two companies jointly own the Waitsia onshore gas field in Western Australia, and Kay says Beach has no preference regarding its future partner in the project. However, he adds that Beach is monitoring the takeover battle to ensure that the interests of its shareholders are protected.

CORPORATES
AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, CHINA ENERGY RESERVE AND CHEMICAL GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, NETWORK INVESTMENT HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, LATTICE ENERGY LIMITED, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG

New Foxtel chief in hunt for millennials

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 19 : 1-Feb-18

Patrick Delany has succeeded Peter Tonagh as CEO of pay-TV group Foxtel ahead of its merger with Fox Sports Australia. Delany has been CEO of Fox Sports since 2011, and previously held a number of roles at Foxtel. He has flagged plans to expand Foxtel’s customer base, with a focus on increasing its market share among audience segments such as millennials. The merger of Foxtel and Fox Sports is expected to be completed within months.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH

AWE expected to hand MinRes rejection notice

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 31-Jan-18

AWE Limited’s board is tipped to declare its support for Mitsui’s cash offer of $A0.95 per share on 31 January. Rival suitor Mineral Resources will then have three days to lift its cash and scrip bid of $A0.83 per share. AWE shares closed at $A0.975 on 30 January, after rising to $A0.99 on the previous day. The third bidder for AWE, China Energy Reserve & Chemicals Group, is not expected to increase its offer.

CORPORATES
AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, CHINA ENERGY RESERVE AND CHEMICAL GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, CANACCORD GENUITY (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED