Today
Fonterra’s Mainland IPO pitch milks investor appetite for new ideas
The guts of the business is to take milk from Australia and New Zealand farms, turn it into cheese and butter, and sell it regionally. Is that tasty enough in volatile markets?
Yesterday
Twice broke to $2.4b buyout: a deal to keep Aussies backing mining juniors
Who said bitcoin investors make all the money? Drilling in a different direction and a surging gold price kept Spartan Resources’ dream alive.
NAB captain’s pick can’t make up for CFO’s shock departure
It’s one in, one out for NAB boss Andrew Irvine as he seeks to prove himself as a top Australian chief executive. Investors are wary.
This Month
This $15b Nasdaq group wants to shift its primary listing to the ASX
If a business has size and growth, management has a vision, and everyone executes as promised, the local market can still provide a red carpet treatment.
Inside Steve McCann’s final attempt to catch a falling Star
Star chief executive Steve McCann’s rescue plan for the casino group could be remembered as one of the trickier pieces of dealmaking in Australia this decade.
Australia’s top deal blocker strikes again, target’s shares drop 25pc
In case a market correction and nervous directors are not enough to stall M&A activity, the competition regulator is back in action.
Blue-chip whacking shows fear has taken over the ASX
Australian stocks are in the middle of a shellacking. Mr Market’s got a hammer and just about everything looks like a nail.
Now isn’t the time for boards ‘to play offence’: JPMorgan’s top banker
Jay Horine says there’s a “pause” inside boardrooms as directors try to work out what Donald Trump and tariffs mean for earnings, business strategies and outlook.
It takes nerves of steel to launch a capital raising in this market
Austal is betting that its unique story – building ships for Donald Trump – can support a capital raising in the worst market conditions we’ve seen in months.
Star negotiates with Salter Brothers for long-term $750m refinancing
The funds management giant has already engaged regulators and state governments about probity and is offering to refinance the casino’s long-term debt.
How Star’s ‘buyer of last resort’ entered its orbit at a meeting in New York
Star Entertainment looked everywhere for funds in recent months, just not the place it would end up attracting a bid. Why not?
Steve McCann is changing Star Entertainment’s business plan mid-flight
The company’s decision to get out of Brisbane and focus on the Gold Coast and Sydney was driven by necessity, and a shift in its direction.
A lesson in private equity from one of the region’s hotshots
How to make it in private equity? Follow your heart, cling on in the bad times and check out Australia’s software companies, says billionaire Jean Eric Salata.
Star agrees to Queen’s Wharf sale, avoids administration
The company has sold its 50 per cent stake in the Brisbane casino to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium, and says it is in talks to secure new debt facilities worth $1 billion.
The Trump slump that could be good for Australia’s war on rising costs
While the RBA is worried global tariffs could hit Australia’s economy, commodities strategists say the oil price will keep sinking. That’s important.
Hong Kong investors to rescue Star, close in on Brisbane casino
The struggling entertainment group has debts totalling $400 million and its shares have not traded since Monday because it has been unable to sign off accounts.
Virgin’s new boss flies in with strict instructions
Is “nothing silly” what Dave Emerson, the incoming boss of Australia’s No.2 airline, wants to hear? It doesn’t matter.
Tariffs are Australia’s problem, even if we’re not the target
Investors are scrolling the list of the US’ biggest deficits, which makes this nation unlikely trade war prey. But we can still be materially hit.
Why super fund investment calls are about more than next quarter’s returns
What’s at the heart of a super fund’s investment strategy? Capital allocation. And the better it allocates that capital, the better for all of us.
Bang! First shot fired in Healthscope battle
A second game of brinkmanship is brewing, and it has the same explosive features as casino owner Star Entertainment: debt, private equity, jobs and government.