The locals, if such a term is apt for a 220,000ha Kimberley holding, reckon it might come down to a battle between billionaires Gina Rinehart and Kerry Stokes.
Up for grabs is the prized cattle station in Western Australia’s north, Jubilee Downs at Fitzroy Crossing.
It has been held since the late 1980s by Keith and Karen Anderson in partnership with Texan billionaire and environmentalist, Edward Bass, who is best known for financing the Biosphere 2 project.
A $25m first round offer by a consortium including the traditional owners has been rejected with expectations now of well over $30m being secured for the 1880s McLarty farm.
Elders agent Greg Smith is juggling the remaining offers with seven from known pastoralists and just one needing FIRB approval after the 14 initial offers.
Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Agriculture owns the neighbouring cattle station Fossil Downs, which Stokes is believed to have missed out on in 2015.
The media mogul owns substantial cattle property, including Napier Downs, some 260km away at Derby. Gogo Station’s Malcolm Harris, who also owns next door, could be in the mix too.
It is not just the land — its 11,000 head of droughtmaster cattle, which are in demand in the live export trade, with an estimated $11m value.
The native title holders of the land that the Jubilee station lease covers will be keen to protect sacred sites.
The sale is expected next week.
Virgin victors party
The Bain Capital team have been rather quick to celebrate their snaring the vanquished Virgin Airlines Australia. Led by managing director Mike Murphy, the Virgin victors were spotted by Margin Call celebrating at Cafe Sydney after many 100-hour weeks.
No sign of the Hawthorn-based Jayne Hrdlicka among the jubilant lunching throng that was ignoring social distancing when they gathered at the harbourside venue.
Hrdlicka was not doubt working away on strategy — and shoring up her rightful directorship prospects for the new board.
Margin Call is not sure a margarita-fuelled Cafe Sydney celebration is quite the right look given their acquisition likely involves the destruction of 5000-plus jobs at the airline.
Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Michael Kaine viewed the announcement of a recommended bidder for Virgin as “a welcome relief”.
“But this is not a time for celebration,” he advised, no doubt also unhappy his membership revenue will take a big dive.
At least Bain Capital’s bid included commitments to pay all $450m of owed worker entitlements, which will save the taxpayers something, but there are wider concerns held by the union movement that Bain may move to renege on other promises to workers.
These concerns arise against the backdrop of the key strategic involvement of the former Qantas and Jetstar executive Hrdlicka at Virgin 2.0.
The US private equity giant has indicated support for current chief executive Paul Scurrah, so the suggestions Hrdlicka could be Virgin’s next chief executive, or even its chairwoman to replace Elizabeth Bryan, have fallen to earth.
More likely that Murphy pilots the plane.
Of course, August 18 could see the creditors ignore the Deloitte Australia liquidators’ advice and choose insolvency.
Golf club to wine club
With some two decades plus in the wine business, the Florida-based golf champion and course designer expatriate Greg Norman is launching a new initiative.
One of his many lesser known businesses, Greg Norman Estates, which he founded in 1996, is teaming up with a new group of winemakers in Australia, New Zealand and California to promote some new wines.
Aussie winemakers Kate Goodman of Penley Estate in the wine region Coonawarra and Ben Riggs, the proprietor of McLaren Vintners, are heading the South Australia drops.
“This business of ours is a passion, a love,” advised Greg’s daughter Morgan, who was a chef in Napa Valley before joining her father’s wine business 12 years ago.
They continue to collaborate with Old Bridge Cellars, their Napa Valley partners since 2019, on the marketing, having created the new label: a shark fin emerging from the water.
Old Bridge Cellars used another identifiable iconic logo featuring the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House.
Riggs will be handling two of the shirazes, while Goodman will be in charge of a shiraz cab. Riggs is sending a few bottles over to the Normans in the next week or so, with the 2018 the first bottle up.
Travel travails
The latest annual report of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust reveals some $3.4m awarded in fellowships, from over 1000 applicants.
However, the 115 Churchill Fellowships recipients, at an average of $29,000 each, have been severely interrupted in their opportunity to travel overseas for four to eight weeks to learn more about an issue they are passionate about.
Given COVID-19’S disruption, David Trebeck, the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust’s national chair, said they would resume normal operations when it is safe.
Fellows will have an additional year to complete their travels.
“Hopefully by then international air travel will again be feasible,” Trebeck said.
“Quite apart from the difficulty of travelling, and the restrictions in place, it would have been impractical to have attempted to carry on in the face of the coronavirus, as many of those about to be visited by our Fellows were no longer available, or conferences they were planning to attend had been cancelled or deferred,” he added.
David Trebeck advised their balance sheet stood at $128.5m, up $12m.
The next round of Churchill Fellowship applications will open 1 February 2021.
Mawhinney speaks
Finally, investors have heard directly from James Mawhinney, who heads the besieged Mayfair conglomerate. And it didn't come on Switzer, which has been his biggest promotion platform.
The Mayfair 101 founder reassured investors in a company video update last month that he has the “wherewithal”. Perhaps not quite what the investors want, which is the withdrawal opportunity.
“The last couple of months for the Mayfair 101 group hasn’t been without its challenges,” Mawhinney hardly had to note.
He mentioned the M Core and M Plus investors, who “have been patient in recent months”.
Mawhinney advised 101 was working with an undisclosed “top tier, big four accounting firm, who are very specialised in this area, and are providing great support”.
“Most importantly, I and my management team are confident we can, and will turn this around. We have the wherewithal in house to do so.”
He said the appointment of receivers to IPO Wealth Holdings, which forms part of the Mayfair 101 group of companies, was highly unjust.
His comments came ahead of Thursday’s decision when Victorian Supreme Court Justice Ross Robson granted the application by IPO Wealth fund trustee Vasco to appoint provisional liquidators to IPO Wealth Holdings.
IPO director Mawhinney now faces the prospect of a public examination in the court.
“In my opinion, provisional liquidators would be better placed to protect investors’ interests due to their powers given to them under the Corporations Act than receivers and managers,” Justice Robson ruled. He noted there was a prima facie case that significant assets in IPO Wealth had been diverted to another company, 101 Investments, located in the British Virgin Islands.
ERA mining PM’s speeches for Jabiluka trouble
Cancelling the mining licence for ERA’s Jabiluka uranium mine should have been an easy win for Anthony Albanese’s government. But it might be shaping up as an own goal.
Lobbyist firm’s client juggling act of opposing interests
Labor-aligned lobbyist Anacta Strategies represents both a British class-action firm and one of the world’s biggest coal producers so get out the popcorn if those two clients butt heads.