PNG PM Peter O’Neill delivers for Ferrovial’s Santiago Olivares

Illustration: Peter Nicholson

Ferrovial boss Santiago Olivares will have PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to thank for delivering takeover target Broadspectrum into the dashing Spaniards’ acquisitive hands.

By late yesterday 19 per cent cornerstone investor Simon Mawhinney at fund manager Allan Gray was softening his previously steadfast stance against Ferrovial’s $1.50-a-share bid for the detention centre operator, as Broadspectrum’s hopes of maintaining its PNG camp contract were dimming.

(Yesterday we said the bid was $1.35, which was wrong.)

“At this stage we are gathering as much information as possible so that we can make an informed decision before the expiry of the offer at 7pm on Monday,” Mawhinney told us.

By last night Broadspectrum chair Diane Smith Gander was still telling investors to reject the bid, but was assessing whether the situation on Manus warranted a change.

Despite that the action in the PNG Supreme Court was on foot, DSG didn’t think it important enough to note it in her target statement. In contrast, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says he’s been “planning for this since late last year”.

Allan Gray tipping into the bid gets Ferrovial close to its 50.1 per cent minimum acceptance, the mums and dads will probably follow and the conquistadors will be locked into buying the company, regardless of how things play out on Manus.

Skala departs board

Steven Skala has left the board of Deutsche Bank’s main Aussie arm after 10 years, resigning his directorship of Deutsche Australia in February.

The banking veteran, who retains his broader role as vice-chairman of Deutsche Bank Australia and NZ, has left Deutsche Australia two legacies: a bumper profit and an expansive “discussion” with Chris Jordan’s tax office.

The bonanza $82 million profit in 2015, nearly three times 2014’s $28m effort, is easily explained, thanks to increased trade by fixed interest clients but long-running tea-and-biscuits with the ATO is shrouded in mystery. Annual reports disclose talks have been going on for at least five years, although the subject matter may have moved.

In 2011, they were “in relation to certain matters”, but by last year the chitchat covered “the determination of the company’s tax position”, which could “lead to additional tax liabilities”, quantum unknown. All DB will say is that it is not under audit and the chinwags do not relate to a dispute.

West beckons Perrin

Millionaire Billabong founder Scott Perrin and wife Rachel are having another shot at flogging his $30m Gold Coast home, which has been for sale for almost a year.

Perrin, who’s now running Seven and Racing Victoria’s Racing.com out of Melbourne, has switched agents on the little Mermaid Beach six-bedder in the hope of finally offloading it.

He’s still commuting to work from up north, but might soon be looking west as WA Racing Minister Colin Holt ramps up plans to flog Australia’s last government-owned wagering business, WA TAB.

Racing.com is mooted as billionaire boss Kerry Stokes’ platform for further expansion into racing, potentially bidding for the wagering licence in his home state. It already has a hook-up with the James Packer-backed Crownbet. Holt’s talking to industry about how he can sell the TAB to the market as a profitable enterprise — last year it made $156m in profit but gave $150m of that to the clubs.

Nine’s breathing space

Over at Nine, under-pressure boss Hugh Marks was finally able to deliver some breaking good news to his board of directors yesterday. As the Peter Costello-chaired Nine board met in Sydney, the action against the network by its Bermuda-based billionaire affiliate partner Bruce Gordon was being thrown out of court, with the judge now considering costs in the case.

Marks had already warned the market that the increase in legal costs from the WIN defence could eat into earnings this half, but if it goes away that could give the boss some headroom towards the growing list of expenses incurred from the 60 Minutes debacle in Beirut.

It was the board’s first coming together since the news and current affairs scandal broke but directors, including former boss David Gyngell, Holly Kramer and Elizabeth Gaines, have been updated daily with written reports on the Levantine drama.

Nine is now saying the internal 60 Minutes review could take until mid-May. The board yesterday was not updated on the investigation.

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