STRATEGIC ALLIANCES (BUSINESS) – AUSTRALIA

Woolworths, Caltex in food-fuel deal with $2bn IPO on the cards

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 19 & 31 : 6-Jul-18

Grocery giant Woolworths will expand its existing alliance with fuel retailer Caltex Australia. The deal includes a 15-year wholesale fuel supply agreement, the extension of Woolworths’ customer loyalty program to more than 700 Caltex petrol station and the rebranding of up to 250 Caltex outlets under Woolworths’ Metro banner. Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci says the petrol station joint venture could ultimately be spun off, potentially within the next 12 months.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Westpac ends referral deal with Prospa

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 28 : 12-Jun-18

Westpac has terminated a referral arrangement with fintech Prospa that it established in 2015. The arrangement saw Westpac refer customers that did not meet its lending criteria to Prospa; it is understood that not many referrals had been made under the agreement. The ending of the agreement is seen as being prompted by Westpac’s desire to increase the amount of unsecured loans it makes to small businesses, and comes after Prospa postponed plans to list on the Australian sharemarket.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, PROSPA GROUP LIMITED ASX PGL, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MYOB GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYO, LIBERTY FINANCE PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, FINTECH AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN

Nine, Sky plan free business channel

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 4-Jun-18

News Corp Australia and Nine Entertainment Company have declined to comment on reports that they are in talks to launch a free-to-air version of Sky News Business. They are believed to be negotiating a deal for Nine to acquire a 50 per cent stake in Sky News Business, which would replace one of Nine’s infomercial channels. The main Sky News channel recently secured an exclusive deal to provide content to WIN Corporation in regional areas.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SKY BUSINESS NEWS, SKY NEWS, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN NEWS CHANNEL PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SKY PLC, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Sky News goes free-to-air for regions

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 28-May-18

Pay-TV channel Sky News Australia has secured a content supply deal with regional broadcaster WIN Corporation. Sky News hopes to attract new subscribers to its full suite of channels via the deal, which is believed to includes a revenue-sharing arrangement. WIN will broadcast selected content from Sky News and Fox Sports News on a new 24-hour news channel to be called Sky News on WIN. Sky News has also held preliminary discussions with Seven West Media regarding a program supply deal, and Sky News Business has held talks with Nine Entertainment Company.

CORPORATES
SKY NEWS, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN NEWS CHANNEL PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, MULTI CHANNEL NETWORK PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SKY PLC

Nine and News Corp in tie-up talks on cricket

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 26-Feb-18

The Ten Network may lose the Big Bash League broadcasting rights if a potential deal between Nine Entertainment Company and News Corp’s Fox Sports comes to fruition. Sources have indicated that they may a joint bid for all forms of the game, with Nine to retain its existing coverage of international matches and share coverage of the domestic Twenty20 competition with Fox Sports. The two media groups are believed to be proposing to offer between $A130m and $A150m per year, although they have not yet approached Cricket Australia.

CORPORATES
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, BIG BASH LEAGUE, CRICKET AUSTRALIA, CBS CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

Producers cut Hollywood deal

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Original article by Michael Bodey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 19-Jan-18

Australian film and TV production company See-Saw Films has secured a production deal with New Regency. The "first look" deal with the Hollywood studio will allow See-Saw to make films with much bigger budgets than at present, and enable its films to reach a larger audience worldwide. See-Saw was among the major winners at the recent Australian Academy of Cinema & Television Arts awards, for productions such as "Lion" and "Top of The Lake: China Girl".

CORPORATES
SEE-SAW FILMS PTY LTD, NEW REGENCY PICTURES, AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF CINEMA AND TELEVISION ARTS, REGENCY ENTERPRISES, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY

Fairfax finds a friend on Google

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Dec-17

Fairfax Media has indicated that a deal for Google to sell and market programmatic advertising across the newspaper publisher’s websites will have limited impact on its sales team. Meanwhile, Fairfax CEO Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood says the deal may allow the media group to increase its investment in journalism. Google is believed to be holding discussions with other media companies regarding similar partnerships. Fairfax already uses Google’s Ad Exchange program to sell online advertising inventory.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GROUPM COMMUNICATIONS PTY LTD, WPP PLC

ANZ joins the party with addition of Samsung Pay

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 18-Jul-17

The ANZ Bank’s Bob Belan notes that it has become the first major bank to allow customers to make mobile payments using Apple, Samsung and Android devices. ANZ will begin offering the Samsung Pay contactless mobile payments solution. It was the first Australian bank to provide access to the rival Apple Pay service. Westpac revealed plans to offer Samsung Pay earlier in 2017.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SAMSUNG PAY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, APPLE INCORPORATED, APPLE PAY, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, MESSENGER CORPORATION, WECHAT, SNAPCHAT INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY, CREDIT UNION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BANK AUSTRALIA, DEFENCE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF SYDNEY LIMITED

Airbnb, Flight Centre book travel deal

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 27-Jun-17

Flight Centre and Airbnb have released details of a new partnership, under which business customers will be able to book Airbnb accommodation through the Flight Centre website. Airbnb executive David Holyoke notes that it is generating a growing proportion of its revenue from business travellers, while Flight Centre’s Andrew Flannery says corporate clients who are staying overseas for extended periods find the idea of living "like a local" appealing.

CORPORATES
FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, AIRBNB AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY, CARLSON WAGONLIT TRAVEL, BCD TRAVEL, MARRIOTT CORPORATION

Qantas’ Red Planet, APEX sign data deal

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 12-Dec-16

Qantas-owned market research, segmentation and analysis firm Red Planet has secured an alliance with the Australian Premium Exchange (APEX). The latter, which is backed by Fairfax Media and Nine Entertainment Company, will gain access to data on Qantas Frequent Flyer members. This is aimed at improving the targeting of advertising to people who view the media groups’ content on mobile devices.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, RED PLANET, AUSTRALIAN PREMIUM EXCHANGE, QANTAS FREQUENT FLYER LIMITED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, DATA REPUBLIC