The National Australia Bank bid for AXA Asia Pacific just won’t go way for a rest, it keeps coming back to remind us of its complexity.
Now if there’s a chance that it could finally live, or die, we could know by Monday of next week.
In fact, there could be a statement sometime today, according to media reports overnight.
If it happens, either way, it will end this tortured story and put us all out of our misery. Nearly 10 months is too long.
On Wednesday AXA AP shares sank by an unexpectedly sharp 3.5%, or 19c, to $5.21 after the company confirmed previous preliminary figures showing a 19% drop in net earnings.
At the same time the competition regulator, the ACCC let it be known that it was still considering the undertaking from the NAB, but some media reports claimed it had asked for more information from the NAB.
Yesterday morning the NAB said it was still in talks on the buy, that was at 10.51 am .
"National Australia Bank today confirmed that it remains in discussions with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in relation to the proposal to acquire the Australian and New Zealand businesses of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings.
"Any material developments will be advised to the market," the bank added.
And just over 30 minutes later, at 11.27 am, AXA AP asked for trading in its shares to be suspended until Monday, saying:
"AXA requests the trading halt pending an announcement to the market regarding the status of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) process in relation to the proposal by National Australian Bank Limited (NAB) and AXA SA for NAB to acquire the Australian and New Zealand businesses of AXA and for NAB to sell AXA’s Asian businesses to AXA SA."
So AXA seems to know something perhaps that the NAB doesn’t.
NAB’s bid to acquire AXA APH was made last December and topped an earlier offer from the AMP, which remains on the sidelines, with clearance from the ACCC to make a bid.
The ACCC blocked the bank’s bid on April 19, claiming that NAB and AXA were both significant competitors in the provision of retail investment platforms.
With AXA on the cusp of delivering an innovative platform that would drive competition, a merger between the two would reduce market competition, the ACCC said at the time.
NAB has subsequently been in talks to sell AXA APH’s North Wealth.net platform to appease the ACCC’s concerns. (The NAB has the larger rival platform called Navigator.)
NAB wants to sell the North platform to fund manager IOOF Holdings and an enough investment funds to convince the ACCC to give its bid the greenlight.
And last night ACCC chairman got upset and slammed people from hedge funds and other investors ringing him, and for others spreading stories daily about what the commission was doing.
It was an unprecedented attack from Mr Samuel. he is obviously upset, could it be with the NAB and AXA’s French parent, which has been the driving force in the deal?
Everyone loves a coal stock (and iron ore, of course) these days with export prices rebounding, Indian companies buying in and new issues and possible deals for companies like Whitehaven.
Just look at the stunning successful Gloucester Coal issue to the big end of the market: $434 million raised, 5% more than the company was looking for from institutional holders.
The institutional component of the deal was expected to raise $410 million and up to a further $45 million from retail shareholders.
The retail offer has been cut to $21 million. It opens next week on August 12.
The shares closed down 5c at $12.42 after the three-for-five issue was done at a deep discount of $9.25 a share.
Some very handy profits were handed over by the company to big investors in the issue.
Gloucester was able to raise more when its 87% shareholder, Noble Group of Singapore and Hong Kong, decided not to participate.
Its shares were then offered to others, including some that would have been part of the retail component of the deal.
Despite the strong take-up of the entitlement offer, Gloucester ruled out increasing the offering via a placement.
Gloucester is looking for $455 million to pay for a big stake in the Middlemount mine in Queensland, in a deal that could see it emerge as 50-50 owner of the mine with Macarthur Coal.
Gloucester says it has a deal with Noble to buy its 27.52% stake in the Middlemount mine for $269.5 million, and Gloucester also would receive Noble’s right to acquire a further 2.48% in Middlemount for $8 million, now held by the joint venture’s other partner, Macarthur Coal Ltd.
It would also get an option to acquire an additional 20% interest from Macarthur for $100 million.
