BREAKFAST DEALS: Caltex's tank half full

Send your tips to deals@businessspectator.com.au and don't forget to watch Deals TV for new rumours and reports later on this morning. Plus, you can follow us at www.twitter.com/WheelsDeals

What next for oil refiner Caltex after the ACCC blocked its plan to buy hundreds of Exxon's petrol stations? Plus, Boost Juice mulls an IPO while Twiggy puts an end to cut-price iron ore.

Caltex Australia

What next for oil refiner Caltex Australia and ExxonMobil after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission blocked a $300 million plan for Caltex to buy hundreds of Exxon's petrol stations? The pair say they are looking at their options after the competition regulator concluded the deal would substantially lessen competition across a range of retail fuel markets and increase the likelihood of stable price increases. But Caltex – which is half-owned by US giant Chevron and operates service stations with Woolworths – has been urged by UBS analyst Gordon Ramsay to look at alternatives, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. Caltex says it will focus on its existing businesses and pursuing M&A activity, having earlier flagged an interest in "niche opportunities” in the energy sector. The next step forward for ExxonMobil, which plans to exit its Australian retail business over the next few years, is not yet clear, with sales to Coles and Woolworths – who have already made substantial inroads into the local petrol market – not guaranteed to get ACCC approval either. Another possibility is that the 53 sites not cleared for sale by the ACCC could be sold separately.

Boost Juice Bars

Is a float on the cards for smoothie chain Boost Juice Bars? Director Janine Allis has told The Age an IPO or an investment from private equity are possibilities for the franchise. "We've seriously thought about floating. We constantly go, 'Where is the step that we can take to grow to the next level?' We can float, we can get private equity money in, we can borrow from the bank, we're constantly thinking about that,” she is quoted as saying. Ellis, who founded Boost in 2000 and was subsequently awarded Telstra Australia Businesswoman of the Year, has said in the past that businesses are either "predator or prey”. Boost says it is on its way to increasing profits by between 20 and 25 per cent this financial year, having just reported a 30 per cent rise for the previous year.

Fortescue Metals Group

The party may be over for customers of Fortescue Metal Group, with customers of the Andrew Forrest-led miner reportedly no longer receiving discount iron ore. According to The Australian, Fortescue is believed to have started selling its iron ore at the benchmark price, rather than a previous discount of 3 per cent. The discount was conditional on obtaining funding of up to $US6 billion from Chinese lenders by the end of September. When the funding did not emerge, Fortescue said it could fund its own expansion plans or get separate debt funding.

OZ Minerals

Fresh from its joint venture with IMX Resources and a new-found appetite for acquisitions, broking house Paterson Securities has weighed in with its thoughts on where to next for the re-energised miner. Patersons says Cudeco, Rex Minerals or Sandfire Resources could be a good fit for OZ, according to The Australian. Earlier this week, OZ Minerals flagged a willingness to take gearing up to 20 per cent, with new chief executive Terry Burgess saying Australia and Southeast Asia were a focus, particularly projects under operation. He also expressed an interest in taking a minority position in the right asset.

Financials

The financials have had a busy couple of days, with the Bank of Queensland raising $1.1 billion and Bendigo & Adelaide Bank pricing a $1bn residential mortgage-backed securities issue. Strong interest from local and international investors helped BOQ boost the size of its government-backed offer from an original $500 million. The offer was priced to yield 50 basis points more than the three-month bank bill swap rate. The bank also took the opportunity to call for a flat fee for the use of the government's AAA rating (with a BBB rating, BOQ pays 150 basis points, as opposed to 70 basis points for the AA-rated big four). And Wizard Home Loans founder Mark Bouris has flagged a move back into the home loan market, telling The Australian: "Only three people know what's going on, and there are some regulatory hoops to jump through, but we are not looking for any handouts or guarantees."

Wrapping up

Peter Doherty, the managing director of CP2, which owns a key stake in takeover target Transurban, will step down from day-to-day duties. The global asset management fund is believed to want greater influence on the tollroad group's board, The Age reports. Meanwhile, shareholders in China-focused Sino Gold Mining have given their tick of approval for a $2 billion takeover from Toronto-listed Eldorado Gold. The Canadian firm had offered 0.55 of its shares for each Sino Gold share. Meanwhile, Anchorage Capital Partners says takeover target Mitre 10 is "making good progress” and the private equity firm believes it can assist in "accelerating and strengthening the turnaround.” The hardware chain forecast a strong first-half result yesterday, after reporting earnings of $6.44 million before interest and tax for the four months to the end of October.

Plenty of good news for investment bankers, with locals invited to pitch for a role in next year's listing on the life insurance group, American International Assurance Company Ltd (AIG Group), says the AFR, particularly those with Asian experience. And at least five banks have been asked to pitch – quickly – for Telstra's float of its 51 per cent stake in Chinese real estate website SouFun, including Macquarie and Goldman Sachs JBWere. Elsewhere, The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Centro Properties is more interested in finding a replacement for chief executive Glenn Rufrano than advisers for its planned restructure, while Link Market Services, owned by private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners, is understood to be focusing on the acquisition of US registry business AST rather than a mooted float. Coming up on Deals TV, we'll be looking at Woodside, Metal Storm and Investa Property Group.