MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Airbnb is not a threat: Wyndham CEO

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 12-Feb-18

Stephen Holmes, the CEO of hospitality company Wyndham Worldwide, believes that the impact of accommodation-sharing platform Airbnb on the hotel sector has been overexaggerated. When it comes to the question as to whether Airbnb has been the biggest factor behind the recent consolidation within the global hotel sector, Holmes suggests that a more important factor has been the growth of online travel agents like booking.com and Expedia.

CORPORATES
WYNDHAM WORLDWIDE CORPORATION, AIRBNB INCORPORATED, BOOKING.COM BV, EXPEDIA INCORPORATED, MARRIOTT CORPORATION, STARWOOD HOTELS AND RESORTS WORLDWIDE INCORPORATED, ACCOR SA, MANTRA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTR, HOTELS.COM, CENDANT CORPORATION, RAMADA INNS PTY LTD, SUPER 8 MOTELS INCORPORATED

Tension hits world merger activity

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 28 : 10-Oct-17

A new report shows that mergers and acquisitions activity in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, has fallen by 7.8 per cent so far in 2017. M&A activity in the region declined by 10.9 per cent in the September quarter, to $US157.8bn. There were some $A674bn worth of deals globally during the quarter, or 3,772 transactions in total. Macquarie Group advised on $US22.65bn worth of M&A deals in Australasia.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, LATTICE SEMICONDUCTOR, UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, ROCKWELL COLLINS INCORPORATED, BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO PLC, RJ REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY

Henderson, Janus create $US6b giant

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Original article by Vesna Poljak, Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 4-Oct-16

Australian-listed global fund manager Henderson Group will merge with US-based Janus Capital Group. Henderson shareholders will control 57 per cent of the new entity, which will be called Janus Henderson GlobalInvestors and boast $US320bn worth of assets under management. Henderson CEO Andrew Formica and former Pimco executive Dick Weil will be joint CEOs of the merged company, which will be dual-listed on the Australian and New York stock exchanges.

CORPORATES
HENDERSON GROUP PLC – ASX HGG, JANUS CAPITAL GROUP INCORPORATED, JANUS HENDERSON GLOBALINVESTORS, PACIFIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY LLC

Energy players ready for mergers

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 31 : 26-May-16

A global survey by international law firm Ashurst has found that 83 per cent of oil and gas company executives anticipate a 50 per cent rise in mergers and acquisitions activity in the sector during 2016. M&A activity is also expected to rise strongly over the next 3-5 years. Meanwhile, some 87 per cent of respondents indicated that their latest strategic plan has either reduced their capital investment budget or left it unchanged.

CORPORATES
ASHURST LLP, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, INTEROIL CORPORATION, AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, LONE STAR FUNDS

Energy M&A on rise as new players emerge

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 3-Mar-16

Herbert Smith Freehills partner Rob Merrick says expectations that the downturn in the crude oil price will be sustained may prompt consolidation in the global oil and gas industry. Many Australian-listed energy groups announced asset writedowns during the February 2016 reporting season, but Merrick says they are at less risk of being forced sellers of assets than their overseas peers. The law firm says private equity firms, pension funds and infrastructure funds may actively pursue oil and gas industry acquisitions.

CORPORATES
HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, BG GROUP PLC, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SENEX ENERGY LIMITED – ASX SXY, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, APACHE CORPORATION, FIRST OIL EXPRO LIMITED, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP, THE CARLYLE GROUP, OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, NATIONAL GRID TRANSCO

Oil M&A tipped to ramp up in 2016 after quiet past year

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 8-Jan-16

IHS forecasts an upturn in mergers and acquisitions activity in the global oil and gas industry in 2016. The global consultancy notes that the total value of such transaction was $US143bn in 2015, which is 22 per cent lower than previously, while there was a significant fall in the number of transactions worth more than $US1bn. Ben Wilson of RBC Capital Markets expects M&A activity to be particularly strong in Australia during 2016.

CORPORATES
IHS INCORPORATED, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, DRILLSEARCH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX DLS, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, BG GROUP PLC, SCEPTER PARTNERS, INTEROIL CORPORATION, BERNSTEIN AND ASSOCIATES, APACHE CORPORATION, BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, QUADRANT ENERGY PTY LTD, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED

Hotel giants’ tie-up opens luxury doors

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 18-Nov-15

JLL’s Mark Wynne Smith anticipates further consolidation in the global accommodation industry in the wake of the proposed merger of Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts. The combined group will boast 5,500 hotels and 1.1 million rooms worldwide, including 16 hotels and 5,000 rooms in Australia. The two companies plan to add an additional 2,500 hotel rooms in Australia during the next five years.

CORPORATES
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL HOTELS INCORPORATED, STARWOOD HOTELS AND RESORTS WORLDWIDE INCORPORATED, JONES LANG LASALLE INCORPORATED, ACCOR ASIA PACIFIC, MANTRA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTR, THE RITZ-CARLTON HOTEL COMPANY LLC, SHERATON HOTELS, W HOTELS, WESTIN HOTELS AND RESORTS, FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON, SAVILLS (AUST) HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BRIGHT RUBY RESOURCES PTE LTD, SUNSHINE INSURANCE GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, INTER-CONTINENTAL HOTELS AND RESORTS, HILTON HOTELS CORPORATION

Global mergers and acquisitions on track for best year ever

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Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 27-Oct-15

Citigroup notes that some $US3.1trn worth of mergers and acquisitions have been announced globally so far in 2015. Citigroup believes there is potential for 2015 to eclipse 2007 as the biggest calendar year on record in terms of global M&A activity. The Citigroup reports notes that M&A activity is 38 per cent higher than at the same time in 2014, including year-on-year growth of 54 per cent in Asia, central Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV SA/NV, SABMILLER PLC, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, BG GROUP PLC, HJ HEINZ COMPANY, KRAFT FOODS INCORPORATED, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, DRILLSEARCH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX DLS, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, SCEPTER PARTNERS, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Professional indemnity premiums likely to rise

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Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 13-Jul-15

The cost of professional indemnity insurance for Australian small and medium businesses fell by 18 per cent in 2013-14, according to BizCover. Factors such as strong competition in the sector and excess insurance capacity also resulted in premiums falling by an additional two per cent in 2014-15. However, experts note the growing trend for mergers and acquisitions in the global insurance sector, which may put upward pressure on premiums.

CORPORATES
BIZCOVER PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, ACE INSURANCE COMPANY, CHUBB CORPORATION, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, XL GROUP, CATLIN GROUP, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Write-downs in mining nearly erase deal value

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Original article by Mark Mulligan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 24-Jun-15

Citigroup has warned that there may be further asset impairment charges in the global mining industry, particularly in the metallurgical and coking coal sector. The firm estimates that around 90 per cent of the value of mergers and acquisitions transacted by large mining groups since 2007 has been written off. Aluminium, iron ore and nickel assets have generated the most impairment charges over the last eight years, while Rio Tinto has the highest level of impaired assets.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, VALE SA, ALCAN INCORPORATED