BREAKFAST DEALS: Nabbing Northern Rock
National Australia Bank has emerged as a front-runner in the bid for the 'good' part of nationalised UK lender Northern Rock.
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National Australia Bank has emerged as a front-runner in the bid for the 'good' part of nationalised UK lender Northern Rock.
National Australia Bank, Northern Rock
Entering the new year in style, National Australia Bank has emerged as a front-runner in the bid for UK lender Northern Rock, and has held a "beauty parade" of investment banks to advise it on a takeover, The Observer reports. As the UK government looks to auction off the nationalised lender, the paper says NAB, which already owns Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks in the UK, has had presentations from Lazard, Citigroup, Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley. The UK government plans to split the bank in two, with the 'good' part expected to include deposits of £20 billion and a portfolio of low-risk mortgages. Other players said to be interested have been supermarket operator Tesco, which is looking to expand in this sector and Spanish bank BBVA – though the paper says the biggest threat to NAB's plans could be from Richard Branson's Virgin Money, which almost bought Northern Rock in 2008 before it was nationalised. Virgin Money has hired advisers to help it spend about £50 million on a British bank as early as this month, the UK Sunday Telegraph reports. And, as part of a penalty imposed by European Commission for approving state bailouts of the banks, Reuters reports NAB could also bid for hundreds of branches being sold by Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds – after receiving approaches over its own UK banking units in December. In other NAB related news, the bank has said it will make its next capital raising, thought to be $1.5 billion, available to all shareholders – at a discount of no more than eight per cent of its share price, Fairfax reports. The raising, planned for some time in the next two months, is to help pay for NAB's planned acquisition of AXA Asia Pacific's Australasian business, after it trumped a joint bid by AMP and AXA APH's French parent, AXA SA.
Griffin Coal
To mining, and Western Australian coal miner Griffin Coal has been placed in administration, after failing to pay $30 million in debt and tax repayments. KordaMentha partner Brian McMaster has been appointed to examine why the 83-year-old company missed the payments, due on December 31 last year, The Australian reports. Griffin is controlled by reclusive Perth tycoon Ric Stowe and managed by his son Geoffrey Stowe. A spokesman for KordaMentha told the paper Griffin has about $700 million in debt, which includes $US475 million ($529 million) in unsecured debt to US bondholders. The paper says repayments include a $25 million repayment to the bondholders and a $5 million payment to the ATO. The debt to the ATO is part of a long-running tax dispute between the ATO and Ric Stowe that was settled last year – with Stowe, keeping true to form, reaching a confidential out-of-court settlement so as to sidestep revealing details about his private companies. The tax office claimed the Griffin Group had sent funds offshore in 2004 and claimed for improper deductions – understating its income by $183 million. Ric Stowe is also involved in another ATO dispute regarding his private company Devereaux Holdings.
Trio Capital
After being suspended by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) on December 18, super fund Trio Capital reportedly has a $1.5 million debenture – listed as an asset of one of Trio's managed funds, ARP Growth Fund – owed by Astarra Asset Management, a company placed into administration shortly before Christmas. The Australian reports Trio could have taken solace in the fact the investment is in the form of shares in listed Nasdaq entity SpecOpsLab, but it says the company is actually defunct. APRA froze $426 million of funds in December after Trio was unable to give administrators information of the whereabouts of $118 million which its managed investment scheme, Astarra Strategic Funds, placed through a British Virgin Islands company.
Tiger Airways
Concerns about the proposed Singapore listing of Tiger Airways persist, with accusations the company has overestimated the amount investors will pay for its shares. An investor roadshow is expected to be launched on January 6, but plans to raise about $S200 million ($A159 million) through an IPO may not take off, The Australian Financial Review reports. The original price was set at a comparatively higher $US500 million, but critics weighing in – such as Qantas Airways and Virgin Blue – say the budget competitor is bleeding cash. With Citigroup estimating $US750 million in new plane commitments from the second half of this financial year to fiscal 2012, Tiger badly needs the equity, the paper says. Keeping with aviation, and Qantas' budget offshoot Jetstar has also used January 6 as the date to announce plans of its strategic agreement with Malaysian carrier Air Asia. The partnership will see the airlines join forces to get better deals from manufacturers and cut operating costs.
Kraft Foods, Cadbury
The takeover of British confectionary maker Cadbury is heating up, with reports Kraft Foods is set to sweeten is hostile £10 billion bid. The unsourced report, in the UK's Sunday Times, did not say what the bid would be raised to, but its current cash-and-share offer values Cadbury at 736 pence a share, 8 per cent below its closing price of 797-1/2 pence on December 31, according to Reuters.Kraft has until January 19 to make a move, which it needs to do fast as a report from Il Sole 24 has Italian confectioner Ferrero meeting with private equity firms, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Blackstone Group LP, as well as Hershey Co to discuss a possible bid.
Jackgreen
In bad news for power generators owed $5 million by failed energy retailer Jackgreen, the company's administrator, PKF's Atle Crowe-Maxwell has said they are unlikely to get a cent back, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. The company collapsed after failing to pay a $500,000 bill to the NSW government-owned Integral Energy a week before Christmas. The paper reports other companies that are seeking unpaid debts are Origin Energy, AGL Energy, NSW's government-owned Country Energy and a Queensland supplier, Energex.
Wrapping up
An increase in IPOs from small-cap retail companies may be on the cards this year, with JPMorgan analyst Shaun Cousins saying they will face competition for investment funds, The Australian reports. The paper lists likely IPO candidates as Colorado, Repco, and beverage group Independent Liquor. It was party time over the weekend, and Bank of Queensland was celebrating the new year – but not this one – with its Eftpos terminals skipping ahead six years to 2016 as the clock struck 12. The computer glitch meant shoppers couldn't access the terminals, with their cards being read as expired. Across the globe, shareholders of Marvel Entertainment have approved its $US4.3 billion acquisition by Walt Disney. The comic book giant's characters X-Men, Iron Man and Spider-Man will now sit among those such as Mickey Mouse, and Buzz Lightyear – after it acquired animation house Pixar three years ago. Finally, The Daily Telegraph reports that ABC Learning boss Eddy Groves' marriage to co-founder Dr Le Neve Groves ended in 1998 – a decade before shareholders learned that the couple had split. Le Neve is suing Eddy for $44.2 million, alleging her signature was forged on documents guaranteeing a margin loan to him, and that he sold her shares without paying her due dividends.
Madeleine Heffernan is on leave, returning January 11.
National Australia Bank has emerged as a front-runner in the bid for the 'good' part of nationalised UK lender Northern Rock.
National Australia Bank, Northern Rock
Entering the new year in style, National Australia Bank has emerged as a front-runner in the bid for UK lender Northern Rock, and has held a "beauty parade" of investment banks to advise it on a takeover, The Observer reports. As the UK government looks to auction off the nationalised lender, the paper says NAB, which already owns Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks in the UK, has had presentations from Lazard, Citigroup, Credit Suisse First Boston and Morgan Stanley. The UK government plans to split the bank in two, with the 'good' part expected to include deposits of £20 billion and a portfolio of low-risk mortgages. Other players said to be interested have been supermarket operator Tesco, which is looking to expand in this sector and Spanish bank BBVA – though the paper says the biggest threat to NAB's plans could be from Richard Branson's Virgin Money, which almost bought Northern Rock in 2008 before it was nationalised. Virgin Money has hired advisers to help it spend about £50 million on a British bank as early as this month, the UK Sunday Telegraph reports. And, as part of a penalty imposed by European Commission for approving state bailouts of the banks, Reuters reports NAB could also bid for hundreds of branches being sold by Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds – after receiving approaches over its own UK banking units in December. In other NAB related news, the bank has said it will make its next capital raising, thought to be $1.5 billion, available to all shareholders – at a discount of no more than eight per cent of its share price, Fairfax reports. The raising, planned for some time in the next two months, is to help pay for NAB's planned acquisition of AXA Asia Pacific's Australasian business, after it trumped a joint bid by AMP and AXA APH's French parent, AXA SA.
Griffin Coal
To mining, and Western Australian coal miner Griffin Coal has been placed in administration, after failing to pay $30 million in debt and tax repayments. KordaMentha partner Brian McMaster has been appointed to examine why the 83-year-old company missed the payments, due on December 31 last year, The Australian reports. Griffin is controlled by reclusive Perth tycoon Ric Stowe and managed by his son Geoffrey Stowe. A spokesman for KordaMentha told the paper Griffin has about $700 million in debt, which includes $US475 million ($529 million) in unsecured debt to US bondholders. The paper says repayments include a $25 million repayment to the bondholders and a $5 million payment to the ATO. The debt to the ATO is part of a long-running tax dispute between the ATO and Ric Stowe that was settled last year – with Stowe, keeping true to form, reaching a confidential out-of-court settlement so as to sidestep revealing details about his private companies. The tax office claimed the Griffin Group had sent funds offshore in 2004 and claimed for improper deductions – understating its income by $183 million. Ric Stowe is also involved in another ATO dispute regarding his private company Devereaux Holdings.
Trio Capital
After being suspended by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) on December 18, super fund Trio Capital reportedly has a $1.5 million debenture – listed as an asset of one of Trio's managed funds, ARP Growth Fund – owed by Astarra Asset Management, a company placed into administration shortly before Christmas. The Australian reports Trio could have taken solace in the fact the investment is in the form of shares in listed Nasdaq entity SpecOpsLab, but it says the company is actually defunct. APRA froze $426 million of funds in December after Trio was unable to give administrators information of the whereabouts of $118 million which its managed investment scheme, Astarra Strategic Funds, placed through a British Virgin Islands company.
Tiger Airways
Concerns about the proposed Singapore listing of Tiger Airways persist, with accusations the company has overestimated the amount investors will pay for its shares. An investor roadshow is expected to be launched on January 6, but plans to raise about $S200 million ($A159 million) through an IPO may not take off, The Australian Financial Review reports. The original price was set at a comparatively higher $US500 million, but critics weighing in – such as Qantas Airways and Virgin Blue – say the budget competitor is bleeding cash. With Citigroup estimating $US750 million in new plane commitments from the second half of this financial year to fiscal 2012, Tiger badly needs the equity, the paper says. Keeping with aviation, and Qantas' budget offshoot Jetstar has also used January 6 as the date to announce plans of its strategic agreement with Malaysian carrier Air Asia. The partnership will see the airlines join forces to get better deals from manufacturers and cut operating costs.
Kraft Foods, Cadbury
The takeover of British confectionary maker Cadbury is heating up, with reports Kraft Foods is set to sweeten is hostile £10 billion bid. The unsourced report, in the UK's Sunday Times, did not say what the bid would be raised to, but its current cash-and-share offer values Cadbury at 736 pence a share, 8 per cent below its closing price of 797-1/2 pence on December 31, according to Reuters.Kraft has until January 19 to make a move, which it needs to do fast as a report from Il Sole 24 has Italian confectioner Ferrero meeting with private equity firms, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Blackstone Group LP, as well as Hershey Co to discuss a possible bid.
Jackgreen
In bad news for power generators owed $5 million by failed energy retailer Jackgreen, the company's administrator, PKF's Atle Crowe-Maxwell has said they are unlikely to get a cent back, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. The company collapsed after failing to pay a $500,000 bill to the NSW government-owned Integral Energy a week before Christmas. The paper reports other companies that are seeking unpaid debts are Origin Energy, AGL Energy, NSW's government-owned Country Energy and a Queensland supplier, Energex.
Wrapping up
An increase in IPOs from small-cap retail companies may be on the cards this year, with JPMorgan analyst Shaun Cousins saying they will face competition for investment funds, The Australian reports. The paper lists likely IPO candidates as Colorado, Repco, and beverage group Independent Liquor. It was party time over the weekend, and Bank of Queensland was celebrating the new year – but not this one – with its Eftpos terminals skipping ahead six years to 2016 as the clock struck 12. The computer glitch meant shoppers couldn't access the terminals, with their cards being read as expired. Across the globe, shareholders of Marvel Entertainment have approved its $US4.3 billion acquisition by Walt Disney. The comic book giant's characters X-Men, Iron Man and Spider-Man will now sit among those such as Mickey Mouse, and Buzz Lightyear – after it acquired animation house Pixar three years ago. Finally, The Daily Telegraph reports that ABC Learning boss Eddy Groves' marriage to co-founder Dr Le Neve Groves ended in 1998 – a decade before shareholders learned that the couple had split. Le Neve is suing Eddy for $44.2 million, alleging her signature was forged on documents guaranteeing a margin loan to him, and that he sold her shares without paying her due dividends.
Madeleine Heffernan is on leave, returning January 11.
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