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Mergers & acquisitions outlook

This Month

We remain committed to Commonwealth Private being the number one banking proposition for our high-net-worth clients in Australia,” CBA executive Angus Sullivan said.

CBA exit hands $5b in assets to LGT Crestone

As first reported by Street Talk, CBA sold the Commonwealth Private business and its $5 billion in funds under management to LGT on Monday.

  • Lucas Baird

ACCC boss implores Coalition, Greens to back merger laws

Gina Cass-Gottlieb calls it the “most critical law change they are going to have to make a decision on in the life of this parliament”.

  • Ronald Mizen

August

Chemist Warehouse is expected to sell off part of its store network to convince the ACCC that the merger will not lead to higher prices for consumers.

Competition regulator delays $8.8b Chemist Warehouse deal approval

The ACCC is undertaking more analysis of the transaction, which would merge the pharmacy giant into Sigma Healthcare. A decision won’t be made until October.

  • Michael Smith
Blackbird partner Niki Scevak justified the decision to sell Leonardo rather than going all the way.

‘Harder and harder’: Why Canva’s $370m AI bet said yes

AI dollars can be “fleeting” and competing with big players can cost hundreds of millions, setting the scene for Leonardo’s sale to Canva.

  • Nick Bonyhady

July

Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill is placing a big bet on the US LNG market.

Woodside’s big bet on US LNG will collide with Trump’s second coming

Just days after Donald Trump declared he wants to “drill, baby, drill”, Woodside has placed $22 billion on an unloved US project. It isn’t without risks. 

  • James Thomson
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June

The market’s focus will turn to deal integration, but Shayne Elliott says the task is one of customer migration.

ANZ boss says Suncorp ‘migration’ can avoid Westpac’s St George pain

Shayne Elliott insists he’s learnt from Westpac’s failure to integrate St George, while Suncorp’s Steve Johnston says he can now focus fully on insurance.

  • James Eyers, Liam Walsh and Tom Richardson

May

Disappointed, but disciplined: BHP chief executive Mike Henry.

Inside BHP’s failed tilt for Anglo – and what comes next

The post-mortems are under way, but two things are already clear: the tight time frame was never going to be enough, and BHP’s inability to win over Anglo shareholders eventually killed the deal.

  • Updated
  • James Thomson

March

Charter Hall swallows 15pc of pubs owner HPI

The property fund manager is already the country’s biggest pubs owner after taking charge of former ASX-listed landlord ALE Group in a $1.7 billion deal three years ago.

  • Nick Lenaghan

February

Julie Coates has lifted CSR’s margins in recent years

CSR’s patient rebuild leads to a French revolution

Julie Coates restructured the company’s operations and rebuilt its supply chain. The lift in margins those moves created helped seal a big takeover deal. 

  • James Thomson
Rightly or wrongly, this deal has been seen as a legacy-maker for Elliott, his big roll of the dice to win back mortgage market that ANZ lost when it mismanaged the COVID-19 home loan frenzy.

How Macquarie helped ANZ win Suncorp

After more than 18 months, ANZ finally has its prize and can buy Suncorp’s banking division. Sorting out the winners and losers isn’t as clear-cut as it seems.

  • James Thomson

November 2023

Jamie Hannah, Deputy Head of Investments & Capital Markets at Van Eck, says the fund manager voted for Brookfield and EIG’s takeover offer for Origin Energy but the company will have to move faster on decarbonisation regardless of the outcome. Photo: Oscar Colman

Van Eck backs in-doubt Origin takeover ahead of crucial vote

Despite intense lobbying from the energy giant, its suitors and their advisers, the market expects the $20 billion bid from EIG and Brookfield will not gain enough support.

  • Ben Potter
Incitec Pivot owns the Dyno Nobel explosives business and an underperforming fertiliser division.

Indonesian buyer hunts Incitec Pivot fertiliser bargain

The interim CEO of Incitec Pivot says a downturn in the fertiliser business does not mean it is the wrong time to sell it.

  • Simon Evans

October 2023

Decision time for $240b IFM, ISPT mega-merger

A tie-up between the two powerful industry funds’ investment platforms has been mooted in the past, but this time around the proposal has proceeded to an offer.  

  • Nick Lenaghan
Transformative deal: Whitehaven chief executive Paul Flynn.

Whitehaven’s $6b coal deal is about taking risk off the table

A deal to buy two Queensland mines from BHP is a potential game changer for the coal-mining company.

  • Updated
  • James Thomson

September 2023

Regal Partners investment chief Phil King.

Regal withdraws Pacific Current takeover bid

Regal has walked away from its bid for boutique asset management house Pacific Current citing frustration with the process, sending Pacific Current shares down 10 per cent.

  • Jonathan Shapiro
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Olivia Boyne is Azure Capital’s first female partner in the firm’s history.

Azure Capital anoints new partner

Natixis-backed corporate advisory firm Azure Capital has inducted a new name to its partnership ranks.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

August 2023

Insurance premiums are surging, but it’s not an easy business to be in, according to Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston.

Suncorp’s soft dividend backs up its case for ANZ deal

The Queensland company is sensitive to complaints about surging premiums. But its lower dividend payout ratio shows why it wants to get out of banking and focus on insurance. 

  • James Thomson
Suncorp’s Steve Johnston (left) with ANZ’s Shayne Elliott.

ACCC’s call on ANZ-Suncorp matters most for minnows

The competition watchdog’s probe of ANZ’s Suncorp takeover has underscored the challenges facing smaller banks in a market where scale matters more than ever. 

  • James Thomson

July 2023

Australian Vintage chief executive Craig Garvin.

Australian Vintage mandates E&P for strategic review

The ASX-listed company behind Tempus Two and McGuigan is understood to have called in the corporate advisory firm to consider ways to unlock value for shareholders.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

June 2023

ANZ boss Shayne Elliott will no within weeks what the ACCC makes of his Suncorp deal.

‘What ifs’ could decide ACCC call on ANZ-Suncorp deal

A new independent expert’s report could give the ACCC fresh ammunition to block the Suncorp-ANZ deal. But it could also launch a lawyers’ picnic. 

  • James Thomson

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/mergers---acquisitions-outlook-hxh