News, Telstra discuss Foxtel and Fox Sports merger

Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 21-Mar-16

Foxtel’s joint owners Telstra and News Corp may merge the pay-TV group with News Corp’s fully-owned Fox Sports. Telstra recently flagged plans to list 60 per cent of its stake in Foxtel on the sharemarket, and merging it with Fox Sports would make the IPO more attractive to investors. Foxtel’s EBITDA and revenue fell in 2015, while Fox Sports posted EBITDA and revenue of $US135m and $US500m respectively in 2014-15.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

Telstra mulls Foxtel IPO

Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1&8 : 18-Mar-16

Telstra is believed to be considering a sharemarket float or sale of its stake in pay TV Foxtel. As Foxtel is worth between $A8 billion and $A9 billion in total, Telstra could receive $A4.5 billion for its 50 per cent stake in the company. Foxtel announced on 17 March 2016 that its CEO Richard Freudenstein will be replaced by News Corporation Australia CEO Peter Tonagh.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

Dick Smith brand to be resurrected by e-commerce pioneer

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 15-Mar-16

Australian businessman Ruslan Kogan has bought Dick Smith Holdings’ intellectual property through an auction run by the receiver of the failed consumer electronics retailer. The size of the deal has not been disclosed. The site DickSmith.com.au will operate independently of Kogan.com. Kogan wants to list his company on the Australian stock exchange and raise $A300 million from investors.

CORPORATES
KOGAN TECHNOLOGIES PTY LTD, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, FERRIER HODGSON AND COMPANY, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Private equity floats lag for second year

Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 23-Feb-16

New figures show that Australian IPOs in 2015 that were backed by private equity firms delivered an average return of 13.1 per cent. In contrast, the average return of IPOs that had no private equity involvement was 19.3 per cent. Private equity-backed IPOs have not outperformed since 2013, when they achieved an average return of 19.6 per cent. However, they have comfortably exceeded the performance of non-private equity IPOs over a three-year period.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRIVATE EQUITY AND VENTURE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, NM ROTHSCHILD AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, GATEWAY LIFESTYLE – ASX GTY, CBL CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX CBL, BESTON GLOBAL FOOD COMPANY LIMITED – ASX BFC, PEPPER GROUP LIMITED – ASX PEP, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, ECLIPX GROUP LIMITED – ASX ECX, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, McALEESE LIMITED – ASX MCS

Resource raisings hit the pits

Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 18 : 18-Jan-16

New figures show that Australian resources groups raised just $A2.41bn in new equity during 2015, which is the lowest level since 2005. There was a sharp decline in IPO activity in particular in the resources sector, while iron ore hopeful Waratah Resources is the latest company to shift its focus to the technology sector. Businessman Nathan Tinkler notes that investors are reluctant to support equity raisings in the resources sector at present.

CORPORATES
WARATAH RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX WGO, AUSTRALIAN PACIFIC COAL LIMITED – ASX AQC, BLOOMBERG LP, PENGANA CAPITAL LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Megastar Millionaire wins investor vote

Original article by Trevor Chappell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 14-Jan-16

MSM Corporation International listed on the Australian sharemarket on 13 January 2016, via a reverse takeover of Minerals Corporation. The digital media and entertainment group has developed Megastar Millionaire, a digital platform that allows users to view and vote on contestants in online talent shows. MSM shares closed at $A0.091, compared with an issue price of $A0.06 in an IPO that raised $A7m.

CORPORATES
MSM CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX MSM, MINERALS CORPORATION LIMITED, DIGITAL RIOT

McGrath falters on first ASX day

Original article by Robert Harley, Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 8-Dec-15

Shares in McGrath Limited closed at $A1.835 on 7 December 2015, giving the real estate group a market capitalisation of $A227.9m. The stock was issued at $A2.10 per share, with founder John McGrath reducing his stake from 58.4 per cent to 27 per cent in the IPO. McGrath Limited expects to post a net profit after tax of $A21.1m in 2015-16, compared with $A18.3m previously.

CORPORATES
McGRATH LIMITED – ASX MEA

AB Inbev eyes Foster’s IPO after merger

Original article by Bridget Carter
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 30-Nov-15

Global brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev is expected to offer to sell some key beer brands in order to gain regulatory approval for its proposed $US104bn acquisition of SABMiller. Peroni and Grolsch are among the international brands that AB InBev is preparing to offload. It is also believed to be considering an IPO of SABMiller’s Australian business, Foster’s Group, as it is not regarded as a core asset.

CORPORATES
ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV SA/NV, SABMILLER PLC, CARLTON AND UNITED BREWERIES, FOSTER’S GROUP LIMITED, PERONI, GROLSCH, LION PTY LTD, KIRIN HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED, STELLA ARTOIS, GRUPO MODELO SA DE CV, MILLER BREWING COMPANY, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, CR SNOW, CHINA RESOURCES ENTERPRISE LIMITED, HEINEKEN NV, LAFARGEHOLCIM

McGrath rating has rivals crying foul

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 26-Nov-15

Rival firms have questioned figures in the prospectus of McGrath Real Estate which suggest that the firm has a 3.2 per cent share of Australia’s residential sales market, ranking it the nation’s third-largest. Harcourts MD Mike Green argues that most of McGrath’s sales are in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and it would have a much lower ranking based on the number of properties sold rather than the dollar value. McGrath is slated to list on the sharemarket in December 2015.

CORPORATES
McGRATH REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, HARCOURTS REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED, RAY WHITE REAL ESTATE, LJ HOOKER (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, FIRST NATIONAL REAL ESTATE GROUP

McGrath to get $112m from company float

Original article by Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian – Page: 28 : 12-Nov-15

McGrath Real Estate will have a market capitalisation of around $A282m when it lists on the Australian sharemarket in December 2015. The real estate group is offering 134 million shares priced at $A2.10 apiece in its IPO. McGrath Real Estate has raised $A128.2m via an institutional bookbuild that closed on 11 November. Founder John McGrath will retain a 26.7 per cent stake in the business.

CORPORATES
McGRATH REAL ESTATE PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, REALOGY CORPORATION, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY REAL ESTATE SERVICES