PRESS DIGEST-Australian Business News - Jan 7
Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)
Moves by the directors of manganese miner OM Holdings (OMH.AX) to change the company's constitution have been criticised by the company's largest shareholder, Consolidated Minerals (ConsMin). OM, which is seeking to amend company by-laws to give the company protection against hostile takeovers under Australian law, acknowledges the reforms are a reaction to ConsMin increasing its stake. ConsMin has accused OM of using the holiday period to push through the changes without proper scrutiny. Page 12.
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New Zealand discount retailer Warehouse Group (WHS.NZ), in which Australian retailer Woolworths (WOW.AX) has a 10 percent stake, yesterday reported that sales for the 10 weeks to January 4 fell 2.5 percent compared with the same period last year. However the company also said profit margins had remained similar to the previous year. Same-store sales fell just 1.9 percent during the period, a better result than some analysts had expected. Warehouse Group generates around 40 percent of its annual earnings in the quarter covering Christmas and January. Page 12.
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Nickel laterite explorer Jervois Mining (JRV.AX) is seeking to raise A$1.7 million through the issue of shares at a price of just A0.4 cents a share. The issue is the latest in a number of low-priced, dilutive raisings by the company, which has issued around 680 million shares over seven raisings since March 2006. The miner intends to use the funds to continue developing a number of projects, including its flagship nickel project at Young in central New South Wales, where it is looking for economic processing techniques. Page 12.
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White Energy (WEC.AX), a Sydney-based company which has an exclusive license to use technology developed in Australia which improves the burning efficiency of low grade coal, is to build an A$80 million facility in the United States. The deal, with Buckskin Mining, will create a facility producing binderless coal briquettes which White Energy says can produce 35 percent more thermal energy than the original, low grade, sub-bituminous coal. White Energy is already building a similar facility in Indonesia. Page 12.
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THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
Shares in Babcock & Brown (BNB.AX) rose 54 percent yesterday as the beleaguered investment bank called on its international banking syndicate to approve its debt-for-equity swap restructuring plan. The banking syndicate, headed by Australia's four major banks, has already provided a A$150 million loan to keep the company afloat. A decision on the plan, which would essentially give the banking syndicate financial control of Babcock & Brown, is expected by Friday. Page 25.
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Gas and electricity retailer AGL Energy (AGK.AX) has secured a 54 percent stake in gas exploration company Sydney Gas following its A$187 million cash takeover bid launched at the end of 2008. AGL's friendly takeover was aimed at securing the rights to become the sole operator of the prospective Hunter coal seam gas project, which it owned in partnership with Sydney Gas. AGL anticipates that extra drilling at the Hunter project will add a further 500 petajoules of gas to its proven or probable gas reserves. Page 27.
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Australian homeowners are expecting the value of their property to fall in the next quarter, according to a new survey by the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) and BankWest. Western Australia recorded the greatest number of respondents forecasting a fall in property prices, followed by Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia. MFAA chief executive Phil Naylor said it was the most pessimistic response the Home Finance Index had recorded regarding property price expectations since it began in 2006. Page 27. Continued...
