STRATEGIC PLANNING – AUSTRALIA

Westpac sells down BT stake for $700m gain

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Original article by Clancy Yeates, James Thomson, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 18 : 17-Jun-15

TS Lim of Bell Potter suggests that Westpac’s move to trim its 59 per cent stake in BT Investment Management is primarily aimed at lifting the bank’s capital ratio. Westpac plans to offload about 82 million shares in BT, which will raise between $A600m and $A700m while reducing its stake in the listed fund manager to 31-40 per cent. The bulk of Westpac’s BT shares will be offered to institutional investors via a bookbuild, while about 27 million will be made available to the retail shareholders of both Westpac and BT.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX

Fundies say $400m price tag too high for Amaysim

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 15-Jun-15

Analysts value mobile telephone services reseller Amaysim at between $A367m and $A483m. The private equity owners of Amaysim are believed to be looking at a valuation of about $A400m for a proposed IPO. Amaysim currently boasts about 716,000 mobile phone subscribers and forecasts that its customer base will top one million by fiscal 2019. However, the telco is facing competition from Australia’s three mobile network owners.

CORPORATES
AMAYSIM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED

National Vet Care dogs ASX-listed Greencross

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 15-Jun-15

It is estimated that Australians spend around $A2.6bn on veterinary services every year. National Veterinary Care aims to capitalise on this via a sharemarket float, which is slated for July 2015. The company is headed by Tomas Steenackers, a former general manager at listed veterinary services group Greencross. Steenackers’ firm comprises one veterinary clinic in Brisbane at present, but it plans to buy an additional 34 clinics if the IPO proceeds.

CORPORATES
GREENCROSS LIMITED – ASX GXL, NATIONAL VETERINARY CARE, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, IBISWORLD PTY LTD, MAYNE PHARMA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYX, TERRY WHITE CHEMISTS, G8 EDUCATION LIMITED – ASX GEM, HEALTH DIRECT PTY LTD, ONCORE GROUP, WILSON HTM INVESTMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX WIG, SHAW STOCKBROKING LIMITED

Tabcorp to revive ‘staid’ Keno brand

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 15-Jun-15

Australian-listed Tabcorp hopes a rebranding of Keno will revive interest in the lottery-style game and attract more players. The rebranding will be backed by a cross-media marketing campaign, featuring TV, radio and outdoor advertising. The marketing campaign uses the theme "let’s play!", and Tabcorp aims to attract younger people to Keno and get people to play the game more often.

CORPORATES
TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH

GenesisCare in no rush over billion-dollar IPO

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 12-Jun-15

Private equity-owned GenesisCare operates 25 cancer treatment facilities in Australia, and is keen to pursue growth domestically and internationally. MD Dan Collins says the group is considering a range of options, including an IPO, although he says GenesisCare is in no hurry to list on the sharemarket. GenesisCare posted EBITDA of $A46.4m in 2013-14, with revenue of $242.5m for the financial year.

CORPORATES
GENESIS CARE PTY LTD, KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS AND COMPANY, KKR AND COMPANY LP, THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND COLLEGE OF RADIOLOGISTS, GREENSTONE LIMITED, HOLLARD INSURANCE GROUP, GREAT BRITAIN. NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC

Westpac faces management overhaul

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 & 24 : 11-Jun-15

Westpac has revealed an internal restructuring which will result in the creation of two new divisions. George Frazis will head the consumer banking division, while David Lindberg will be at the helm of the commercial and business banking division. TS Lim of Bell Potter says some Westpac or St George bank branches that are in close proximity might eventually be closed now that the two brands are within the same division of the banking major.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, BANK OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RAMS HOME LOANS PTY LTD, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Dell goes on Australian hiring spree

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 9-Jun-15

The Australian division of global IT group Dell plans to hire at least 30 additional executives across its operations. The MD of Dell in Australia and New Zealand, Angela Fox, adds that the group intends to significantly increase its global headcount. Dell aims to lift its market share at the expense of industry rivals such as Hewlett-Packard, which plans to shed 5,000 employees worldwide.

CORPORATES
DELL COMPUTER CORPORATION, DELL COMPUTER PTY LTD, HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY, NASDAQ

Optus chief predicts duopoly with Telstra

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 5-Jun-15

Singtel Optus will ramp up investment in its fixed-line and mobile networks in a bid to dispel consumers’ perceptions that Telstra’s networks are superior. Optus will also introduce a single customer billing system across its operations and pursue further alliances with content providers such as Netflix. Meanwhile, Optus CEO Allen Lew has suggested that there is potential for consolidation in Australia’s telco sector to leave Telstra and Optus as the two main players.

CORPORATES
SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX SGT, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH

Woodside mulls $US8.5b Texas LNG export project

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 5-Jun-15

Woodside Petroleum and US-based Sempra Energy are expected to make a final investment decision on a proposed LNG export terminal in 2017. Development of the Port Arthur project in Texas could cost about $US8.5bn ($A10.9bn), according to Citigroup. The export terminal would have annual production capacity of 10 million tonnes. Woodside is keen to build its presence in the LNG trading sector.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, SEMPRA ENERGY, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, CHENIERE ENERGY INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Rio iron ore boss keeps eye on prize

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 4-Jun-15

Rio Tinto’s iron ore operations boasted a cash cost of about $US20 per tonne in the first half of 2014-15, but the group aims to reduce this to $US17/tonne in the second half. Andrew Harding, the head of the iron ore division, concedes that it is getting harder to further reduce costs after Rio’s aggressive push in recent years. Rio is also negotiating more favourable contracts with its suppliers and introducing automation technology.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA