Peter Costello spreads Nine-Fairfax merger fees love

Cartoon: Rod Clement

Thanks to Nine chair Peter ­Costello’s munificence, almost $40 million of fees are now being sprinkled on the nation’s corporate towers.

The former Liberal treasurer hasn’t been this generous since the 2006 budget.

While more than $1 billion of market value has been wiped off the combined market capitalisation of Nine and Fairfax since their planned merger was announced in July, the rain is now falling on the advisers that worked on the deal.

No wonder so many of them were in the Federal Court yesterday to watch it get the tick of approval after a quixotic legal challenge by Antony Catalano’s legal team, led by Melbourne barrister Andrew Broadfoot.

Hardly containing his glee was Macquarie’s Michael Milne, sitting next to Fairfax strategy executive Dhruv Gupta, who will get his own golden handshake if Nine CEO Hugh Marks doesn’t find a spot for him at the new $3bn outfit.

Milne and his investment banking boss Darren Keogh have helped snare $14.5m for the Millionaires’ Factory advising Nick Falloon’s board to agree to Fairfax’s sublimation. Closing down sales don’t get much more lucrative than that.

Ross Grant’s advisory firm Grant Samuel was paid $1.1m for their independent report on the deal that was at the heart of Catalano’s attempt to scuttle the merger. That was unsuccessful thanks to the slashing advocacy of Fairfax’s barrister Ian Jackman, brother of Wolverine Hugh Jackman.

Also watching on in court was Fairfax’s legal adviser on the deal David Friedlander, whose firm King & Wood Mallesons’ original $1.5m fee has risen thanks to the legal challenge.

Nine’s advisers kept away, but they have even more reason to celebrate. Michael Stock and his troops at investment bank Jefferies Group will pocket in the order of $14.5m for their work advising Costello and Marks on the deal.

And as Stock’s client — unlike Macquarie’s — still has a pulse, there should be more work in store.

Costello’s generosity to his advisers should continue, as Nine probably buys the rest of Macquarie Media, sells a few offcuts and, potentially, re-jigs the structure of Domain.

Much on his plate

Bruce McWilliam was, of course, keeping an eye on the rival media companies’ day in the Federal Court, but not so much that he couldn’t break for lunch.

Seven’s commercial director was in the crowd at Sydney’s Rockpool, breaking bread with Dave Sharma, the man who almost replaced McWilliam’s good friend Malcolm Turnbull as the Liberal member for Wentworth.

For now the former diplomat Sharma — who just bought $2.6m terrace in Paddington, a clear signal that his eyes are on a second tilt against Kerryn Phelps — is back to his newish life as a businessman.

Shekel Brainweigh, the Israeli-headquartered tech company he chairs, listed on the ASX last week and has held its value at $48.7m. Not a bad start.

Crossing the t’s

Atlassian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes might not own the late Lady Mary Fairfax’s Fairwater by Christmas, but the tech entrepreneur is making sure his record $100m-plus house purchase goes to plan come settlement, likely in the new year.

Cannon-Brookes, 39, worth $5.16bn at last count on the Stensholt Index, has just lodged a caveat over Lady Fairfax’s historic Point Piper home, which remains in the hands of her hand-picked trustees who are responsible for her estate worth almost $600m.

The caveat was lodged last week, after Cannon-Brookes first struck a deal to buy the home at the end of September. The home had only been on the market for a few days, with Cannon-Brookes’ purchase price believed to have set an Australian residential record.

Mike Cannon-Brookes and Annie Todd. Picture: James Croucher

The purchase will make Cannon-Brookes and his fashion designer wife Annie Todd, who operates her own label House of Cannon, next-door neighbours to his Atlassian business partner Scott Farquhar and his fund manager wife, Kim Jackson.

Farquhar and Jackson last year paid more than $70m for JB Fairfax’s Elaine mansion.

On Sunday, the annual garden party of the Australian chapter of The Ireland Funds was held for the first time in many years away from Lady Mary’s home.

This year the party — which has been a fixture on Sydney’s social calendar — was held at Randwick racecourse, sponsored by Irish horse breeder Coolmore.

The end of an era.

Taxing times

Now that ATO boss Chris Jordan is done with BHP and its Singapore marketing hub, the taxman can turn his full attention to his $362m battle with American-domiciled James Packer and the gaming billionaire’s listed Crown Resorts.

The stoush will be back in the Federal Court on December 10, although it won’t be heard until June, ahead of Crown’s full-year balance date.

It concerns the amount of tax Packer’s group paid on its aborted purchase of US casino operator Cannery in 2007. The gaming group used a structure that allowed it to claim interest costs in Australia and the US.

Crown, now led by John Alexander, has already paid a bond to the ATO so it doesn’t incur interest on the tax debt as the dispute is resolved.

But it remains a sizeable contingent liability hanging over the Packer-controlled casino group’s head. For how much longer?