MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS – AUSTRALIA

Mineral Resources in scrip offer for AWE

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 : 12-Dec-17

Shares in Mineral Resources closed eight per cent lower at $A16.39 on 11 December after it launched a $A510m takeover bid for AWE Limited. The scrip bid was initially pitched at $A0.80 per share, but the downturn in Mineral Resources’ stock reduced the value of its bid to $A0.73, in line with the rival bid from China Energy Reserve & Chemical Group. Mineral Resources MD Chris Ellison says AWE’s stake in the Waitsia gas field is of primary interest to his company, both to supply its own operations and Western Australian gas users.

CORPORATES
AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, MINERAL RESOURCES LIHIR PTY LTD, CHINA ENERGY RESERVE AND CHEMICAL GROUP, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, LATTICE ENERGY LIMITED, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, SHA ENERGY, QUADRANT ENERGY PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

Suitor plots east coast for AWE’s gas

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 11-Dec-17

Kevin Gao, the Australian business manager of China Energy Reserve & Chemicals Group, stresses that supplying the Western Australian gas market will be the Chinese group’s priority if its takeover bid for AWE Limited succeeds. He has downplayed concerns that CERCG aims to primarily supply the Chinese market via its $A463m hostile bid. Gao adds that gas from the Waitsia gas field in the Perth Basin could potentially be shipped to Australia’s east coast if supply is surplus to demand in WA. CERCG is offering $A0.73 per share for AWE.

CORPORATES
AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, CHINA ENERGY RESERVE AND CHEMICAL GROUP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, HIGHBURY PARTNERSHIP PTY LTD, ARGONAUT SECURITIES PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

Rivals uneasy at merger of Foxtel, Sports

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 11-Dec-17

Scott Lorson, the CEO of pay-TV company Fetch, says the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission should have released a statement of issues before advising that it will not oppose the proposed merger between Foxtel and Fox Sports. Other pay-TV providers and telcos have also expressed concern about approval of the deal, which the ACCC concluded would not result in a substantial lessening of competition.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FETCHTV PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FOXTEL NOW, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, IINET LIMITED, DODO INTERNET PTY LTD, IPRIMUS, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Game on: Foxtel, Fox Sports merger cleared

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 8-Dec-17

Shares in News Corporation and Telstra rallied on 7 December after the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission signalled that the proposed merger between Foxtel and Fox Sports would not substantially reduce competition. The two companies jointly own Foxtel, while News Corp is the sole owner of Fox Sports. Telstra’s stake in Foxtel will be reduced to 35 per cent if the merger proceeds. ACCC chairman Rod Sims says the regulator took into account the fact that Foxtel’s digital products will be available to Telstra’s rivals.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Global beer giant snaps up minnow

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 1-Dec-17

Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev has acquired Adelaide-based craft beer maker Pirate Life for an undisclosed sum. Pirate Life currently produces around 3 million litres of beer at its Hindmarsh plant, but Anheuser-Busch InBev intends to provide it with $A10 million to help it build a bigger brewery, increasing its annual output to around 8 million litres. Anheuser-Busch InBev’s purchase of Pirate Life comes two months after it bought Sydney-based brewer 4 Pines.

CORPORATES
ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV SA/NV, PIRATE LIFE, 4 PINES BREWING COMPANY PTY LTD, CARLTON AND UNITED BREWERIES, COOPERS BREWERY LIMITED, CRAFT BEER INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

Aristocrat Leisure lands games giant Big Fish for $1.3 billion

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 1-Dec-17

Aristocrat Leisure’s push to reduce its reliance on poker machine sales continued on 30 November with its announcement that it had acquired US social gaming firm Big Fish Gaming for $US900 million ($A1.3 billion). The purchase will increase the percentage of its revenue that comes from digital sources to around 38 per cent, and follows its August purchase of Israeli-based game developer Plarium. Aristocrat also handed down its 2017 fiscal year results on 30 November, reporting a net profit of $A495 million, up 41 per cent, earned on revenue of about $A2.4 billion.

CORPORATES
ARISTOCRAT LEISURE LIMITED – ASX ALL, BIG FISH GAMING INCORPORATED, PLARIUM LLC, CHURCHILL DOWNS, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, VIDEO GAMING TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED

Business alarm as vote brings on merger of militant super union

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: Online : 28-Nov-17

Members of the Maritime Union of Australia have voted in favour of a merger with the Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union. It is expected the two unions will ask the Fair Work Commission in January 2018 to approve their alliance, which would create a union with 144,000 members. However, employer groups have indicated they will go to the High Court if necessary in an attempt to block the FWC from approving the merger. Fifty per cent of MUA members took part in the vote, with 87 per cent of votes supporting the merger.

CORPORATES
MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, TEXTILE, CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, MASTER BUILDERS’ ASSOCIATION

Alinta wins race for $1.2b Loy Yang B

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 24-Nov-17

Alinta has outlaid around $A1.2 billion to acquire Victoria’s Loy Yang B power station from Engie and Mitsui & Co. Loy Yang B generates around 17 per cent of Victoria’s electricity needs, and has a capacity of around 1,000 megawatts. Alinta MD Jeff Dimery said buying Loy Yang B makes it easier for it to compete with "the big guys". Larger rivals AGL Energy, Origin Energy and EnergyAustralia all have coal-fired power stations.

CORPORATES
ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, ENGIE SA, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DELTA ELECTRICITY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CHINA RESOURCES (HOLDINGS) LIMITED, APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Stokes questions merger logic

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Original article by Jemima Whyte
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 3-Nov-17

Seven West Media will reduce its costs by $A25m via staff cuts, as part of a broader strategy to slash its costs by $A105m over two years. Meanwhile, chairman Kerry Stokes has told shareholders that Seven has not held any merger talks with Fairfax Media or News Corp, and he suggested that merging a TV network with a print media company may offer few synergies. He also said Seven is trialling a combined TV and print newsroom in Perth, which could influence whether Seven pursues mergers or acquisitions in the media sector.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION, ENERGY QUEENSLAND, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD

Woolworths denies Myer interest

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 27-Oct-17

Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments acquired a 10.8 per cent stake in department store chain Myer earlier in 2017, but the value of his investment has fallen by 35 per cent over the last six months. This has prompted Lew to launch a range of attacks against its board and its "new Myer" strategy. South African firm Woolworths Holdings has denied rumours that it was planning to launch a takeover bid for Myer at around the time that Lew made his investment. Lew in turn refutes suggestions that his investment was made to stop a possible Woolworths bid.

CORPORATES
PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, DAVID JONES LIMITED, COUNTRY ROAD LIMITED, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE