Companies

TPG Telecom (TPM) is set to become a major player in the Australian Telecommunications sector after announcing the acquisition of Telecom New Zealand Australia Pty Ltd and its subsidiaries, which include AAPT and PowerTel.
The acquisition, to be consummated on 28 February 2014, is highly complementary given it will add 11,000km of optical fibre, 254 Mid Band Ethernet exchanges, 1,500 directly connected premises and 15 data centres, servicing 300 wholesale customers and ~5,000 business customers, to TPG’s current infrastructure base. continue…

by Russell Muldoon Posted in Companies.

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Insurance Australia Group (ASX: IAG) has offered Wesfarmers (ASX: WES) $1.845 billion to acquire its insurance division. Wesfarmers expects to record a pre-tax profit of $700 million on the transaction, but is the purchase just as lucrative for IAG? continue…

by Ben MacNevin Posted in Companies, Insurance.

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Telstra (ASX:TLS) has done well for its shareholders over the past several years. From a low of $2.60 in March 2011, TLS shares have risen to above $5.00, providing capital growth of around 90% as well as healthy, fully franked dividends along the way. This is well above the returns delivered by the broader market during that period. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies.

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It’s bad news for “Australian Made” as Holden announced that it will turn the engine off on its car manufacturing in Australia, with the last Aussie-made car to roll off its production line in 2017. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies.

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My kids all played this game at the Montgomery residence when they were very young. We’d line up all manner of items next to a bowl of water and the kids had to think about whether the item would float or sink. Heavy pieces of wood were always fun because despite their weight, they floated.

That surprised look must also be on the faces of those who purchased shares in some of the recent wave of floats. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Market commentary.

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In what we believe is a company transforming event, TPG Telecom (TPM) has announced the acquisition of Telecom New Zealand Australia Pty Ltd and its subsidiaries, which include the AAPT and PowerTel businesses. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies.

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One of our brokers and a producer of some excellent insights into smaller capitalized companies in Australia, Baillieu Holst, recently attracted the skills of analyst Stuart Roberts who has wasted no time releasing a new 37 page report covering the Life Sciences sector. As many private investors rarely have a comprehensive understanding even of the players in this sector, I thought it would very useful to provide you with Baillieu’s summary (with permission) of each of the companies covered. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Insightful Insights.

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As Dick Smith prepares to re-enter the public domain, it may be worthwhile comparing the company with JB Hi-Fi to understand the sustainability of its transformation. continue…

by Ben MacNevin Posted in Companies.

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You can call this Part 5 or the ‘Finale’ in our series on McMillan Shakespeare.

You might recall that after McMillan Shakespeare’s shares were lifted from suspension (following Kevin Rudd’s pre-election announcement of a change to the recording of car usage for FBT purposes), the shares traded around $7.00 – down 50 per cent from pre-suspension levels. continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies.

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In what was arguably the AGM season’s standout result, it was pleasing to read through the presentation by Ainsworth Game Technology Limited (ASX: AGI) and discover that much of the anecdotal evidence we had gathered a few weeks ago here largely proved reliable and correct. continue…

by Russell Muldoon Posted in Companies.

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