Like the four worlds depicted in the opening titles of cult Japanese TV show Monkey, the terrain of Uncle Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has formed again and yet again as endless aeons wheeled and passed.
In the latest tectonic shift gripping the press lord's global empire, Australian-born former Wall Street Journal editor Robert Thomson has been elevated to head the publishing arm, which is to be split off into a separately listed company.
It's a move that will no doubt cause pilgrims to flood to News Corp's very own India, New York, to receive the latest holy scrolls containing the wisdom of Fox.
Beating the human tide is Eureka Report publisher and ABC TV finance guru Alan Kohler, who CBD hears is already in New York to meet with Guru Thomson. Kohler's kingdom was folded into Rupert's empire in June, netting him and business partners including Eric Beecher, Mark Carnegie and John Wylie $30 million in cash.
Values cascade up
Witnesses have been trudging through a courtroom to give evidence at at a NSW corruption hearing that has Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid under the microscope.
But while all eyes at the hearing have been on allegedly dodgy dealings over a related party transaction where Cascade Coal tried to flog its $1 million coal exploration licence to White Energy for the bargain price of $500 million, another interesting coal deal has surfaced involving the same folk.
In mid-April 2010, White Energy was being offered the chance to snap up South Australian Coal, owned by Brian Flannery, Travers Duncan, John Atkinson, John Kinghorn and John McGuigan, who were also on the White board.
Other investors in SA Coal included investment banker Richard Poole, the Cascade director who allegedly disguised the payment of $30 million to the family of ALP powerbroker Obeid.
The corruption inquiry has heard the valuation of SA Coal early in 2010 was $40 million, but White paid at least double that later in the year.
"It shot up in value, too," quipped counsel assisting the ICAC inquiry.
Broker gets heroic
Steer clear of ICAP's Sydney office on Wednesday if you have a fear of celebrities. A red carpet full of famous types is descending on the broker's office for its annual fund-raising shindig, now in its 20th year.
Faces including Ian "Dicko" Dickson, former Mrs Russell Crowe Danielle Spencer and Rose Tattoo singer Angry Anderson will mingle with staff dressed as clowns, superheroes and members of Kiss.
It sounds like hell but CBD is assured it's for good causes. ICAP's revenues and broker's commissions on the day are donated to charity - it raised more than $20 million worldwide last year.
Brown to be grilled
Real estate agent Justin Brown is to be grilled under oath over the collapse of former friend Lance Hodgkinson's property empire after losing a bid to be excused from a public examination.
Liquidator Ozem Kassem of Cor Cordis, examining the collapse of Hodgkinson's Bluestone Property Services, summoned Brown, the chairman of CBRE Residential, to give evidence about $600,000 owed to Bluestone by Brown's company, First Equilibrium.
The debt arises out of a previous court case in which Brown had tried to hold Hodgkinson to a deal thrashed out at the Lord Dudley Hotel in Paddington in 2005.
Under the deal, Hodgkinson and his business partner Daniel Hausman were to buy Brown out of developments they were working on together, including the Chevron nightclub site in Melbourne.
Sadly, the NSW courts held the one-page document signed on the day wasn't legally enforceable, and ordered First Equilibrium to pay Bluestone $600,000.
Brown told the Supreme Court it would be wrong to haul him into the witness box because he had already given evidence about the collapse, and said if there was to be an examination, it should be limited to his personal financial affairs.
Last Tuesday, in the NSW Supreme Court, Justice Richard White dismissed Brown's application and awarded costs against him.
Better luck in the courts for former health minister Michael Wooldridge, Victorian Liberal Party heavyweight Peter Clarke and other directors of Australian Property Custodian Holdings, which ran the failed Prime Trust retirement village group.
On Tuesday, the Victorian Supreme Court ruled the directors did not have to file full defences against an action brought by the company's receiver if doing so would tend to expose them to a civil penalty.
This is because the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is running just such a civil penalty case in the Federal Court over the same $33 million transaction that is at issue in the Supreme Court.
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bbutler@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
What did the article report about News Corp splitting its publishing arm and the appointment of Robert Thomson?
The article says News Corp is splitting off its publishing arm into a separately listed company and has elevated Australian‑born, former Wall Street Journal editor Robert Thomson to head that publishing business.
Who is Alan Kohler and what connection to News Corp or Robert Thomson was mentioned?
Alan Kohler, described in the article as the Eureka Report publisher and an ABC TV finance presenter, was reported to be in New York to meet Robert Thomson. The article also notes Kohler’s business was folded into Rupert Murdoch’s empire in June, yielding about $30 million in cash to Kohler and his partners.
What did the ICAC corruption hearing discussed in the article involve and which companies were named?
The article describes an NSW corruption hearing focusing on Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid and related‑party dealings. It mentions Cascade Coal, White Energy and South Australian Coal (SA Coal), and references allegations around transactions and payments involving those parties.
What details were reported about White Energy’s dealings with South Australian Coal (SA Coal)?
According to the article, in mid‑April 2010 White Energy was offered the chance to acquire South Australian Coal, which was owned by Brian Flannery, Travers Duncan, John Atkinson, John Kinghorn and John McGuigan (who were also on the White board). The ICAC hearing heard SA Coal’s early‑2010 valuation was about $40 million, but White Energy paid at least double that amount later in the year.
What allegations about payments and investor involvement were mentioned in the article?
The article reports other investors in SA Coal included investment banker Richard Poole and notes an allegation that a Cascade director disguised a $30 million payment to the family of ALP powerbroker Eddie Obeid. These points were raised in the corruption hearing coverage.
What fundraising event did the article mention and why might investors notice it?
The piece describes ICAP’s annual fundraising event in Sydney—its 20th year—with high‑profile guests and staff in costume. The article highlights that ICAP donates its revenues and brokers’ commissions from the day to charity and that the group raised more than $20 million worldwide the previous year.
What legal matter involving Justin Brown and First Equilibrium was covered in the article?
The article reports that real estate agent Justin Brown was ordered to give evidence under oath about the collapse of Lance Hodgkinson’s property business. Liquidator Ozem Kassem summoned Brown to explain a $600,000 debt owed to Bluestone by Brown’s company First Equilibrium. Brown’s bid to be excused from the public examination was rejected by the NSW Supreme Court, which awarded costs against him.
What did the Victorian Supreme Court rule about directors of Australian Property Custodian Holdings and how does ASIC factor in?
The article says the Victorian Supreme Court ruled directors of Australian Property Custodian Holdings did not have to file full defences in a receiver’s action if doing so would expose them to a civil penalty. The judge noted the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) was already running a related civil penalty case in the Federal Court over the same $33 million transaction.
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