STRATEGIC PLANNING – AUSTRALIA

Barossa fires up Santos hopes of Darwin LNG

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 24-Apr-18

The partners in the Barossa gas field have committed to undertaking front-end engineering and design work on the project, with a view to making a final investment decision by the end of 2019. The partners propose to process gas from Barossa at the Darwin LNG plant, which will be underutilised when the Bayu-Undan gas field is depleted in coming years. Santos has a 25 per cent stake in the Barossa gas field and an 11.5 per cent stake in the Darwin LNG project.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, CONOCOPHILLIPS, SK GROUP, HARBOUR ENERGY LIMITED, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

Woodside cool on play for rival Santos

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 19-Apr-18

Woodside Petroleum has advised that its sales rose by 18 per cent to $US1.169bn in the March 2018 quarter. The oil and gas group’s production rose from 21.4 million barrels of oil equivalent in the March 2017 quarter to 22.2 million boe, with the result being boosted by the contribution from its 13 per cent stake in the Wheatstone LNG project. CEO Peter Coleman has downplayed speculation that Woodside could bid for Santos, stressing that the Browse and Scarborough gas fields are its priorities.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, CHEVRON CORPORATION, HARBOUR ENERGY LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

CBA eyes $4b spin-off of funds manager

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 18-Apr-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has appointed John Mulcahy as the chairman of Colonial First State Global Asset Management ahead of its demerger and sharemarket float. Goldman Sachs values CFSGAM at between $A3.7bn and $A4.8bn, which could potentially make it the largest Australian IPO since Medibank Private in 2014. CBA opted for an IPO following a strategic review of CFSGAM, which boasts $A219bn worth of assets under management. CBA sold its life insurance business in 2017, and the latest divestiture will enable it to focus on its core banking business.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, AIA GROUP LIMITED, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, REGAL FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEW SOUTH WALES TREASURY CORPORATION, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, ECLIPX GROUP LIMITED – ASX ECX, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, FIDELITY INVESTMENTS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ERNST AND YOUNG, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Optus to hang up on Virgin Mobile

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 19 : 17-Apr-18

It is understood that Optus is planning to close down its Virgin Mobile unit, with all of its users to be transferred to Optus. Optus holds the Virgin Mobile licence until 2021, and closing it down will mean it will not have to pay any more licensing fees. Virgin Mobile was formed as a joint venture between Optus and Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile in 2000, with Optus assuming control of Virgin Mobile’s stake in 2006. Virgin Mobile’s market share declined from 5.4 per cent to 4.4 per cent in the year to June 2017.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VIRGIN MOBILE (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMAYSIM AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX AYS, VIRGIN MOBILE HOLDINGS (UK) PLC

Myer rules out using VA to exit leases

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 27-Mar-18

Struggling retailer Myer is saddled with $A2.7 billion worth of leases, and it has been suggested that it could enter into voluntary administration in order to get out of its lease commitments. Such a strategy was adopted by retailers OrotonGroup and SumoSalad. However, a spokesperson for Myer says it has no plans to enter into voluntary administration, noting that it continues to be solvent. Joe Hayes of Wexted Advisors says that entering into voluntary administration could create more problems for Myer than it might solve.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, OROTONGROUP LIMITED – ASX ORL, SUMO SALAD, WEXTED ADVISORS, McGRATH NICOL AND PARTNERS SERVICES PTY LTD

Coles’ capital structure key to Wesfarmers demerger success

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 32 : 20-Mar-18

Wesfarmers will retain a shareholding of up to 20 per cent in Coles and a seat on its board if the proposed demerger proceeds. David Errington from Bank of America Merrill Lynch does not endorse this idea, saying it would be better for Coles long-term if it has an independent board and share register. Investors and analysts are of the view that the potential for Coles to succeed once the demerger is completed will depend largely on its balance sheet and capital structure.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, KKR AND COMPANY LP, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, PARADICE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AIRLIE FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

BHP to change gear at Escondida copper

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 19-Mar-18

BHP Billiton has spent $US8 billion over the last six years on improvements to Escondida, the giant copper mine in Chile in which it and Rio Tinto own stakes of 57 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. Escondida is tipped to produce between 1.13 million and 1.23 million tonnes of copper in 2018, and BHP is aiming for annual production of 1.2 million tonnes per annum over the next decade. However, the quality of the copper grade produced by Escondida is expected to decline over this period.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Foxtel-Fox Sports merger hails new era in content

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 7-Mar-18

Foxtel customers will have access to 201 channels after joint owners News Corp Australia and Telstra finalised a deal to merge the pay-TV company with News Corp’s fully-owned Fox Sports. Telstra will reduce its stake in Foxtel to 35 per cent as a result of the deal. Meanwhile, Foxtel CEO Patrick Delaney has flagged plans to launch a series of genre-based streaming video services, with the aim of targeting consumers who have shunned its traditional broadcast products.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, COMCAST CORPORATION, SKY PLC, WALT DISNEY COMPANY

Foxtel bows to demand by adding movie greats

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 26 : 5-Mar-18

Foxtel’s executive director of television, Brian Walsh, says broadcasters must offer exclusive content in order to remain competitive as viewers shift to watching films and TV shows on demand. Foxtel will increase the number of film channels it offers to 10 with the launch of Foxtel Movie Greats on 23 March. It will feature classic Hollywood films that have been digitally remastered in high definition. Foxtel will also add more than 1,200 classic films to its Foxtel Now on-demand service.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL NOW, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, HBO, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS

Hywood seeks cuts as Fairfax print sales fall

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 22-Feb-18

Fairfax Media has posted a 2017-18 interim net profit of $A38.5m, which is 54 per cent lower than previously. Underlying net profit fell 10 per cent to $A76.3m and revenue was down four per cent at $A877m. The Australian Metro Media division’s print advertising revenue and circulation revenue were down 13.4 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively. Fairfax reduced costs by 11 per cent during the half-year, and CEO Greg Hywood says the group will seek further cost cuts. He also says Fairfax will be open to mergers and acquisitions, while it intends to sell or discontinue 28 print publications in New Zealand.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, METRO MEDIA PUBLISHING PTY LTD, STUFF LIMITED, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS