BREAKFAST DEALS: Seven salvo

A new twist in the legal imbroglio between Seven Media and Ten Network after Seven's legal team accuses defector James Warburton of stealing commercially sensitive information. Meanwhile, the mooted merger between Foxtel and Austar gets a potential boost. In the mining sector, uranium player Mantra Resources' Russian suitor returns to the table with a revised offer, the three way battle for Lundin Mining gets interesting and BC Iron's erstwhile suitor Regent Pacific rejects talk of reviving its $345 million bid. Elsewhere, Foster's retaliates as Coles and Woolworths eye a beer war, Colorado Group looks set to be the second private equity owned retailer to bite the dust and Glencore's IPO plans seems unscathed despite recent market jitters.

Seven Network, Ten Network

Relations between free to air networks Seven Media Group and Ten Network look set to be strained even further as the legal imbroglio over the recent defection of former Seven man James Warburton to Ten took another interesting turn yesterday. Seven launched legal action against Ten and Warburton on March 10, alleging that Warburton is effectively blocked from taking on the top job at Ten until October 2012 by a restraint of trade agreement. Ten maintains that its star recruit should be able to start on July 14, however, Seven's legal team of Johnson Winter & Slattery and Baker & McKenzie have now fired off another salvo at the NSW Supreme Court just two weeks before the trial begins. Seven's lawyers now accuse Warburton of taking commercially sensitive information as he left the network. According to AAP, Seven's barrister, Dauid Sibtain, has told the court that the  network's legal team only became aware of Warburton's actions last Friday. Hence the curious delay in airing the pilfered document claims now rather than when the original action was launched. The treatment of these commercially sensitive documents may have a bearing on the impending legal battle, scheduled to start on April 4, but more importantly, who knows how much of Seven's dirty laundry Warburton may be carrying with him? Seven's legal team is understandably trying to keep a lid on the documents and has sought court orders to that effect. The court will decide on that motion this Friday.

Foxtel, Austar, AFL rights

The new element to the Seven-Ten-Warburton legal dance comes as the two networks get ready to put forward their bid for the latest round of AFL broadcast rights. Seven and Ten are again putting up a joint bid and are expected to face fierce competition from pay TV operator Foxtel. While Nine Entertainment is not expected to put up a serious challenge there is a chance that it might hook up with Foxtel. Changes to the anti siphoning laws have made Foxtel a serious contender to challenge Seven and Ten for the footy rights and just how hard its willing to play will have a bearing on the mooted merger between it and its regional pay TV peer Austar United. There is a renewed sense of optimism about the potential merger in the market this week after Austar's majority shareholder Liberty Global extended its cable TV reach in Germany with the $4.5 billion acquisition of Germany's third-largest cable TV company, Kabel Baden-Wuerttemberg. The move is Liberty's second buy in Germany and is consistent with the view that Liberty and its billionaire boss John Malone are setting their sights on Europe and are happy to do a deal with Foxtel with regards to its 54 per cent stake in Austar. The latest move could well speed up the tentative negotiations underway between Liberty and Foxtel's shareholders – including Telstra, Consolidated Media Holdings and News Corporation

Mining round up (Mantra Resources, Equinox Minerals, BC Iron)

Moving to the action in the mining sector, it looks like uranium explorer Mantra Resources' Russian suitor ARMZ Uranium Holding has returned to the table and while the revised offer is lower than the original deal lobbed in December, Mantra's shareholders don't seem to be in a mood to complain. ARMZ, a unit of Russian state owned nuclear company Rosatom Corp, has naturally used the unfolding nuclear crisis in Japan to tighten the screws on Mantra, with its new offer of $1.02 billion 12 per cent lower than what was on the table last year. ARMZ agreed to pay Mantra shareholders $8 a share in December but will now offer $6.87 a share and Mantra investors will also get a dividend of 15 Australian cents per share. However, given the uncertainty around uranium stocks and nuclear energy Mantra's board and investors obviously reckon it's better to take what's on offer rather than fly solo. ARMZ has also amended the on-sell agreement it has with its Canadian subsidiary Uranium One, which now has 24 months to take Mantra off ARZM's hands instead of the initial 12 months, provided it acquires about 15 per cent of Mantra for $US150 million by January 31, 2012.

In the copper sector, the three way battle for Lundin Mining is getting interesting, with suitor Equinox Minerals maintaining that it is still keen to push through with $4.8 billion takeover bid for Lundin and the target possibly having second thoughts about its planned merger with Inmet Mining. Equinox told the market yesterday that its offer was still the best deal for Lundin shareholders and a combined Equinox-Lundin was a much better option than the nil premium merger between Lundin and Inmet. The bullish tones from Equinox , which couldn't resist taking a dig at Inmet's problems in Panama, is not unexpected, however, it's interesting to see that Lundin did not make any mention of the Inmet merger as it urged its shareholders to reject the Equinox offer. Lundin is obviously concerned about what is going on in Panama with Inmet and just what implication that might hold for their planned merger. Both miners have now pushed their shareholder vote on the merger to April 4.

Iron ore junior BC Iron's erstwhile suitor Regent Pacific has ruled out any chance of resurrecting its $345 million bid despite the jilted target's move to take its case to the Takeovers Panel. BC Iron has asked the panel to force Regent Pacific to continue with its $3.30 a share bid, alleging that the suitor's "purported termination'' of the offer is void. Regent Pacific is hanging tough for the moment, saying that the agreement has been terminated in accordance with terms and it will defend that position.

Wrapping up

Grocery giants Coles and Woolworths are apparently not satisfied with going toe-to-toe on the discounting stakes with cheap milk and eggs and have now turned their attention to beer. Both retailers have reportedly mulled plans to sell popular products from Foster's Group's portfolio at below cost in a bid to lure in customers. It looks like Foster's got wind of the move and has taken drastic action, with the Herald Sun saying that the brewer has withdrawn supply of some of its popular brands. The "loss-leading” exercise – whereby one product is sold at a loss in order to attract customers who are then likely to purchase other products – conducted by the retailers has understandably antagonised Foster's and as The Age points it may also lead to added scrutiny from government and regulatory authorities. Meanwhile, another private equity owned retailer looks on the brink with footwear and apparel Colorado Group facing the prospect of receivership. Colorado's fate is now firmly in the hands of its lenders, who are owed about $440 million. Time has run out for Colorado, owned by Hong Kong-based Affinity Equity Partners, after the expiration of the six week extension on banking covenants and the general feeling now is that the business will now be split with its individual divisions sold collectively or on their own. According to industry publication Inside Retailing, while the core Colorado brand could also be sold the precarious financial health of the business could mean the end of the road. Colorado's potential collapse follows the demise of Pacific Equity Partners' RedGroup business. In the property sector, Cedar Woods Properties has rejected a $310 million takeover offer, claiming that it undervalues the company. Cedar Woods told the market that an unidentified third party had lobbed a $5.05 a share offer and The Australian reports that the mystery suitor was none other than industry giant Mirvac, which made its pitch in September. Finally, the federal government has managed to find a temporary arrangement with regards to who runs the Future Fund, with incumbent David Murray sticking around for another year. The decision gives Wayne Swan and Penny Wong breathing room to find a suitable candidate amid talks that Swan wasn't quite so keen on keeping Murray around. In overseas news, Glencore is reportedly close to hiring eight banks to supervise its planned multi-billion-dollar London and Hong Kong listing. If that is indeed the case then it would seem that the Swiss commodity giant is not too bothered by the recent turmoil in global markets.