An acceptance received five hours after Friday’s 7pm deadline has spelled the end for APA’s AUD$11.1 billion bid for Qantas, although the consortium has flagged it may try again. Takeovers activity continues to make headlines across Australia, with WA energy retailer Alinta receiving a bid to rival Babcock and Brown’s recommended takeover, and Perpetual accepting Cemex’s offer for Rinker. Federal Treasurer Peter Costello has hinted at what tomorrow night’s budget may contain, and the Australian dollar has resumed its climb against the US dollar. Meanwhile, most major indices have gained while gold and oil fell in early trade.
All the details below…
Qantas (ASX: QAN) bid fails to take off: Airline Partners Australia’s (APA) AUD$11.1 billion bid for Qantas has failed after the Takeovers Panel threw out the consortium’s last minute appeal have late acceptances allowed.
APA failed to gain 50% of acceptances by its 7pm deadline on Friday. A major acceptance, which would have seen APA’s stake rise to 50.6%, was not received until after 7pm.
The consortium was then rejected when it applied to have the Takeovers Panel hear its case in relation to the late acceptance.
This morning, APA said that it is exploring a number of alternatives, including the possibility of making a renewed offer for Qantas at the same offer price of AUD$5.45 per share.
APA had warned that Qantas shares could slump as low as AUD$4.20 if the bid failed. Qantas shares were placed on a trading halt this morning.
Alinta receives rival takeover bid: The board of Alinta (ASX:AAN) is reconsidering its options after receiving a rival takeover bid from Macquarie Bank (ASX:MBL).
Macquarie has provided AUD$1.1 billion to underwrite the bid, which allows shareholders the choice of a full cash option, full scrip option, and a third balanced option. The value of the bid has not yet been disclosed.
The Alinta board had previously recommended an offer from a consortium led by Babcock and Brown and Singapore Power, worth AUD$7.4 billion.
The Babcock and Brown Consortium responded to the rival offer by altering its proposal to include an all cash alternative for small shareholders and the option for all Alinta shareholders to make a “Maximum Cash Election” or “Maximum Securities Election” potentially providing Alinta shareholders with the ability to receive 100% cash or 100% securities.
Budget will benefit working families: The Federal Government’s annual budget will contain benefits for working families and the environment, Treasurer Peter Costello has said.
Mr Costello would not comment on whether tax cuts were included in the budget, but told journalists in Canberra that it would invest in the economy to ensure future jobs growth. The Treasurer said that a 30% rebate on childcare would form part of the budget, as would incentives for mothers, the disabled and older workers to reenter the workforce.
Several environmental initiatives are also set to gain funding in the budget, which will be revealed tomorrow night
“Fund care for our river system and our greatest water basin, the Murray-Darling Basin, and make sure that we start preserving Australia’s great natural resource. Our land, our river ways, our vegetation, our environment,” were some of the areas Mr Costello promised would benefit from his twelfth budget.
Perpetual to accept Rinker offer: Cemex’s (NYSE:CX) bid for construction materials company Rinker (ASX:RIN) has received a major boost, with Rinker’s major shareholder accepting the offer.
Perpetual Group accepted the USD$15.85 per share offer this morning, prompting Cemex to extend its offer until June 8 and waive the 90% acceptance condition if its interest in Rinker shares exceeds 50% by that date.
The Cemex offer has been declared final, and has the unanimous recommendation of the Rinker board.
Aussie dollar gains against greenback: The Australian dollar has risen to USD$0.823 against a generally weaker US dollar.
Contributing to the climb in the Australian dollar’s value was soft employment data from the US, which has prompted speculation the Federal Reserve will cut US interest rates later this year, NineMSN reports.
However, the extent of the dollar’s gain was limited by the failure of APA’s bid for Qantas. “Fallout from the failed Qantas takeover will have a modest and short-lived impact on the Australian dollar,” said John Kyriakopoulos, currency strategist at nabCapital.
Until tomorrow,
Chloe Wilson