MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS – AUSTRALIA

Opponents line up to resist Tabcorp deal

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 37 : 24-Apr-17

Racing NSW CEO Peter V’Landys rejects suggestions that a merger between Tabcorp Holdings and Tatts Group would reduce competition for broadcasting rights for horse racing. Some submissions to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission have expressed concern that the merger would increase the market power of Tabcorp-owned Sky Racing at the expense of rivals such as Racing.com, which is a joint venture between Seven West Media and Racing Victoria.

CORPORATES
TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, SKY RACING, RACING.COM, RACING NSW, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, RACING VICTORIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, CROWNBET PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, PACIFIC CONSORTIUM

KKR in fresh $7.3bn Tatts bid

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Original article by Bridget Carter
The Australian – Page: 17 & 25 : 19-Apr-17

The Pacific Consortium, which is headed by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, has made a revised takeover bid for Tatts Group. The consortium’s latest offer of $A7.3bn values the wagering and lotteries group at $A4.21 per share, and would not require Australian Competition & Consumer Commission approval. Tabcorp is awaiting the Competition Tribunal’s decision on its rival cash and scrip bid. The Pacific Consortium first proposed acquiring Tatts in late 2016, with plans to demerge its wagering business.

CORPORATES
TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, PACIFIC CONSORTIUM, KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS AND COMPANY, KKR AND COMPANY LP, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. COMPETITION TRIBUNAL, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, MORGAN STANLEY INFRASTRUCTURE, FIRST STATE SUPER, RACING NSW, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

M&A seen as resilient to shocks

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 11-Apr-17

Data from Dealogic shows that $US11.9bn ($A15.9bn) worth of takeover bids for Australian companies were announced in the March 2017 quarter, which is 38 per cent lower year-on-year. Meanwhile, Deloitte has released a report which forecasts that global uncertainty will weigh upon mergers and acquisitions activity in 2017. However, the firm expects an upturn in M&A activity when the uncertainty abates. Timothy Mahapatra of Deloitte notes that deal-making is still a priority for many companies.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CHOW TAI FOOK ENTERPRISES LIMITED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Fairfax spikes on talk of takeover

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann, Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 21 : 30-Mar-17

Shares in Fairfax Media closed 2.8 per cent higher at $A1.095 on 29 March 2017, after reaching a six-year high of $A1.15. The stock has rallied on the strength of speculation that TPG Capital has been actively buying Fairfax shares and could launch a takeover bid. The private equity firm is believed to have held talks with other media groups regarding Fairfax assets in the event of a takeover play.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TPG CAPITAL LP, DOMAIN.COM.AU, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, PLATINUM CAPITAL FUND, CERBERUS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP, FORTRESS INVESTMENT GROUP LLC, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, GILBERT AND TOBIN LAWYERS, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Laws not the only obstacle to mega-mergers

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 20-Mar-17

The Australian Government’s cross-media ownership reform bill is slated to be debated by the Senate on 20 Match 2017. However, even if the bill is passed by Parliament, it remains uncertain as to whether the reforms will result in large-scale mergers in the media sector. Aside from the fact that there may not be sufficient support among executives and shareholders for such deals, any mergers would be aimed primarily at competing with Google and Facebook for advertising revenue in the long-term, rather than rival media companies.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, SKY NEWS, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Leaks on M&A deals on rise despite increased crackdown by regulators

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 14 : 19-Jan-17

A report from Intralinks shows that three per cent of Australian mergers and acquisition deals were leaked prior to an official announcement in 2015, compared with two per cent in 2014. Globally, the proportion of leaked deals rose from six per cent to 8.6 per cent in 2015. The report also notes that leaks resulted in a global median takeover premium of 53 per cent for target companies, compared with a premium of just 24 per cent for deals that were not leaked. Australia ranks among the three nations with the lowest level of M&A leaks, according to Intralinks.

CORPORATES
INTRALINKS INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Bellamy’s vulnerable to takeover

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 23 : 13-Jan-17

Shares in infant formula group Bellamy’s Australia shed 18 per cent to close at $A4.40 on 12 January 2017. The stock fell 20 per cent in the previous session, after being in a trading halt since early December. There is growing speculation that the company could become a takeover target. Belinda Moore of Morgans Financial says it would be attractive to suitors, but notes that turning around its fortunes could take up to 18 months. Bellamy’s shareholder Jan Cameron has ruled out making a takeover bid, although she will continue to push for changes to its board of directors.

CORPORATES
BELLAMY’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX BAL, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BLACK PRINCE PRIVATE FOUNDATION, FONTERRA CO-OPERATIVE GROUP LIMITED, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, WILSON HTM LIMITED

Mining deals set to rebound

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Original article by Matt Chambers, Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 16 : 6-Jan-17

Rising commodity prices are likely to prompt Australian mining companies to seek growth opportunities through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). In 2016, M&A activity was subdued, with total transactions worth only $A6.9 billion, compared with $A71.9 billion in the boom year of 2007.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ALCAN INCORPORATED, ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RBC CAPITAL (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, GENESEE AND WYOMING INCORPORATED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, ORBIS GOLD LIMITED – ASX OBS, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, ALLEN AND OVERY, MMG LIMITED – ASX MMG

ACCC expresses initial concerns about PMP and IPMG proposed merger

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Original article by
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission – Page: online : 22-Dec-16

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) is concerned that the proposed merger between PMP and IPMG may "substantially lessen" competition in the supply of heatset web offset printing. The ACCC expressed its concerns in a Statement of Issues, released on 22 December 2016. ACCC chairman Rod Sims notes that the merger would result in a reduction in the number of significant suppliers in the sector of catalogue and magazine printing from three to two. The final decision is expected to be made on 23 February 2017.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, PMP LIMITED – ASX PMP, THE INDEPENDENT PRINT MEDIA GROUP PTY LTD, IVE GROUP LIMITED – ASX IGL, THE FRANKLIN PRESS PTY LTD, AIW PRINTING PTY LTD

Swisse parent takes full ownership

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 16-Dec-16

Biostime International has paid $A311m to acquire the 17 per cent of Swisse that it did not already own following its takeover of the Australian vitamin maker in 2015. Former Treasury Wines Estate executive Oliver Horn has been appointed as MD of Swisse after CEO Radek Sali advised that he will depart at the end of 2016. Sali is one of the minority shareholders who agreed to accept the buyout offer. He says the process of integrating Swisse with Biostime has gone well.

CORPORATES
SWISSE WELLNESS PTY LTD, BIOSTIME INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, PENFOLDS WINES PTY LTD, DIAGEO PLC, FOSTER’S GROUP LIMITED, BELLAMY’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX BAL, VITACO HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VIT, SHANGHAI PHARMACEUTICAL HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED, PRIMAVERA CAPITAL GROUP, BLACKMORES LIMITED – ASX BKL, NATURE’S CARE