MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS – AUSTRALIA

InterOil AGM voting stirs deal worries

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 16-Jun-16

InterOil’s former CEO Phil Mulacek has failed in his bid for a board spill, although he received a high level of support at the takeover target’s 2016 AGM. Some 31 per cent of votes cast backed his stance, and Oil Search’s $US2.2bn takeover bid will fail if 33 per cent of InterOil shareholders vote against it on 28 July. Oil Search CEO Peter Botten intends to hold further meetings with InterOil’s shareholders in the lead-up to the vote.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, INTEROIL CORPORATION, TOTAL SA, CAPITAL GROUP COMPANIES INCORPORATED, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION

Dissident push falters at InterOil

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Original article by Brian Robins
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 20 : 13-Jun-16

Takeover target InterOil has advised that its annual meeting will proceed on 14 June 2016, after a court dismissed an application by ex-CEO Phil Mulacek to have it delayed. Shareholders will vote on Mulacek’s push for a board spill. He opposes a $US2.2 billion ($A3bn) bid for the company by Australian-listed Oil Search, arguing that the offer undervalues InterOil. The majority of institutional investors are believed to support the bid.

CORPORATES
INTEROIL CORPORATION, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, SUPREME COURT OF YUKON

Gold’s M&A to scale down as sales dry up

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 9-Jun-16

Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are among the mid-tier gold producers that have benefited from the asset sales programs of larger global rivals in recent years. Evolution chairman Jake Klein cautions that future opportunities for acquisitions in the sector will become limited, with fewer large projects likely to be put up for sale. He says the focus is likely to shift to exploration and development, and he has called for greater collaboration between mid-tier and small gold miners.

CORPORATES
EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, OCEANAGOLD CORPORATION – ASX OGC, BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION, NEWMONT MINING CORPORATION, ASSOCIATION OF MINING AND EXPLORATION COMPANIES, INDEPENDENCE GROUP NL – ASX IGO, SIRIUS RESOURCES NL

M&A won’t solve BHP’s growth questions

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 31-May-16

Citi analyst Clarke Wilkins notes that BHP Billiton has performed poorly in terms of mergers and acquisitions in recent years, and its high level of debt is likely to rule out acquisitions in the next several years. Wilkins adds that there is a dearth of suitable acquisitions at present, particularly in the copper and oil sectors, and he suggests that the resources giant could instead consider asset sales. He identifies BHP’s petroleum division as a potential candidate for asset sales.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, POTASH CORPORATION OF SASKATCHEWAN INCORPORATED, GLENCORE PLC, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32

Galaxy Resources, General Mining in $700m merger

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 31-May-16

Lithium miners Galaxy Resources and General Mining Corporation have confirmed a merger deal. Shares in both groups resumed trading on 30 May 2016 after Galaxy unveiled a proposal to offer 1.65 of its shares for each share in General Mining. The merged entity’s assets will include the joint venture Mt Cattlin project in Western Australia. There is expected to be strong growth in demand for lithium in coming years.

CORPORATES
GALAXY RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GXY, GENERAL MINING CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX GMM, GLOBAL LITHIUM LLC

ACCC’s concerns delay Asciano deal

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 27-May-16

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will not make a final ruling on the $A9bn takeover of ports and rail group Asciano until 21 July 2016. The ACCC’s statement of issues raises a number of concerns regarding the proposed deal, including the impact on competition if the sale of Asciano’s stake in the ACFS Port Logistics joint venture proceeds. The ACCC will accept submissions on its statement of issues until 10 June.

CORPORATES
ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, ACFS PORT LOGISTICS PTY LTD, BROOKFIELD INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS LP, GOVERNMENT OF SINGAPORE INVESTMENT CORPORATION PTE LTD, QATAR INVESTCO, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, PATRICK CORPORATION LIMITED, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, PACIFIC NATIONAL PTY LTD, CANADA PENSION PLAN INVESTMENT BOARD, CIC CAPITAL CORPORATION, DBCT HOLDINGS PTY LTD

News Corp to sell WA newspaper

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 22 : 27-May-16

Seven West Media will need approval from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to acquire Perth masthead "The Sunday Times" for an estimated $A12m to $A15m. The deal with News Corp Australia is believed to include news website PerthNow. The deal may raise competition concerns, as Seven West Media owns Perth’s sole weekday newspaper, "The West Australian". The competition regulator will seek public submissions on the proposed deal.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ

Time ripe for buybacks: analyst

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 25-May-16

Analysis by Credit Suisse shows that S&P/ASX 200 companies that have undertaken share buybacks have achieved an annual return of 9.3 per cent since 2002. In contrast, companies that have not repurchased shares have delivered a return of negative 1.9 per cent over this period. Hasan Tevfik of Credit Suisse argues that more listed companies should capitalise on the low cost debt to undertake buybacks or mergers and acquisitions. He adds that the falling cost of debt in China is likely to prompt more Chinese companies to pursue acquisitions in Australia.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, CSR LIMITED – ASX CSR, JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES PLC – ASX JHX, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL

Oil Search bid set for success

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 22 : 24-May-16

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says people in his nation will directly benefit from the takeover bid for InterOil by Australian-listed Oil Search. The $US2.2bn bid comprises 8.05 of Oil Search’s shares for each InterOil share, which values the bid at $US40.25 per share. InterOil shares have risen by 38 per cent to $US43.63 in response to the bid. Oil Search intends to on-sell part of InterOil’s stake in the Papua LNG project to Total if the bid succeeds.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, INTEROIL CORPORATION, TOTAL SA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, RAYMOND JAMES AND ASSOCIATES

Coal upstart tips more deals

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 19-May-16

Stanmore Coal MD Nick Jorss says the listed group is considering further acquisitions in the coal sector, as a number of large players look to divest assets. Stanmore bought the Isaac Plains coking coal mine in Queensland from Vale and Sumitomo in mid-2015. Stanmore has resumed production at the mine and will target annual output of 1.1 million tonnes a year, compared with 2.8 million annually when the mine was mothballed in 2014.

CORPORATES
STANMORE COAL LIMITED – ASX SMR, VALE SA, SUMITOMO CORPORATION, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION, ARROW ENERGY LIMITED