Yesterday
Whyalla steelworks sale draws strong offshore interest, says premier
Strong state backing is helping to attract interest in the Whyalla plant, with BlueScope seen by many as the front-runner.
This Month
Global protection products manufacturer taps brokers for $500m IPO
United Kingdom-headquartered AIS is seeking institutional investor support for its initial public offering, signing on with Henslow and Morgans.
Think Santos is a FIRB headache? Austal is another thing altogether
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will have to make some big calls on allowing foreign investors to buy up critical Australian energy and defence assets this year.
Billionaire Geminder mulls asset sales at struggling Pro-Pac business
Flagstaff Partners is part-way through a strategic review at ASX-listed Pro-Pac Packaging, which has shed $300m in market value.
‘Project Rose’ should prove the end of billionaire feud, court told
Alex Waislitz and Visy heiress Heloise Pratt’s acrimonious divorce has boiled over into the public domain after years of private disputes.
Hanwha says it has the green light to buy all of Austal, if it wants
But the ASX-listed shipbuilder said the approval from US foreign investment officials claimed by the Korean conglomerate was “different to that claimed”.
Pacific Equity Partners zeroes in on ASX-listed property services biz
PEP does not typically approach take-privates without certainty of completion, including securing the support of major shareholders.
This is what the Soul Patts deal is really about
There’s plenty of history in Soul Patts’ merger with Brickworks, but at the heart of the deal is a $2 billion prize that completes Soul Patts’ portfolio.
Brickworks merger drains ASX of last local building materials giant
Founded in 1934, the company joined the sharemarket in 1962 and is one of the last left after the buyouts of Boral, CSR and Adbri in the last year.
PE player CVC has a sweet tooth for Arnott’s Asian arm
The KKR-owned business formally began reaching out to interested parties in April via sell-side adviser UBS.
This Australian firm is set to win from Trump’s steel call
The US tariffs come amid a global oversupply of steel, with the OECD warning capacity will expand by 7 per cent by 2027, much of it in China.
May
James Hardie’s merger to deliver Azek CEO $30m
Azek shareholders in the US will vote on June 27 on the controversial $14b deal, with Azek boss Jesse Singh in line for a hefty payout.
James Hardie quietly discloses debt blowout in $14b Azek deal
Newly filed documents show rising bridging loan expenses for a transaction that has already widely been panned by the building materials giant’s shareholders.
Ares is designated driver at Quadrant’s MotorOne as $350m refi lands
Street Talk understands the Sydney buyout fund wants to trade its bank debt for a $350 million-plus unitranche loan.
Whyalla administrators in credit stand-off with Gupta’s InfraBuild
KordaMentha halted the delivery of steel for several days last week over a payment dispute as the relationship between the two businesses deteriorates.
It’s going to take more than star power to save Burberry
It’s a tough period for fashion globally, with business and supply chain challenges amid a worldwide luxury slowdown.
Sanjeev Gupta’s Tasmanian plant is the latest smelter to hit trouble
The decision to pause operations at the Liberty Bell Bay smelter adds to broader doubts about the economic viability of Australia’s metals smelters.
Samuel Terry-backed WA manufacturer Matrix snares offshore suitor
The world’s biggest manufacturer of syntactic foam, owned by Samuel Terry and Perpetual, is weighing a merger proposal from British competitor AIS.
Customers won’t pay for green metals, mining veteran warns Labor
Mining and manufacturing bosses say Australia’s heavy spending on green metal processing will only pay off if costs fall significantly.
End of an era: Downer closes in on sale of 49pc stake in Keolis Downer
Downer EDI is weeks away from cashing out of a joint venture that has over the past 15 years held plum public transport contracts in Melbourne and Adelaide.
Gas prices leave another factory teetering
Dyno Nobel has warned it might be forced to close a major plant that makes fertiliser used to grow crops due to high gas costs.
Dyno Nobel inks $375m deal for fertiliser distribution business
The group is expected to announce the separation of fertilisers as part of a package of updates at its half-year results on Monday.
How the Ford family plans to avoid a Murdoch succession battle
Bill Ford, the great-grandson of Ford founder Henry, has three rules for any of the family who want to work in the business. “It’s not a family employment agency.”
Cherry on top: Queensland family office buys No.1 ice-cream cone maker
Alvia’s investment in Altimate is a bet on Australians’ love for ice-cream, which it says has helped the market double in value since 2012 to $1.5 billion-plus.
How a $14b deal can happen without a shareholder vote
This week on The Fin podcast, James Thomson and Joyce Moullakis on James Hardie’s controversial deal, why shareholders don’t get to vote and what they want to change.