Perth-based Euroz has benefited from healthier equity capital markets activity to post strong first-quarter earnings.

The stockbroking and advisory firm has told investors its unaudited net profit came in at $9.75 million in the three months ended September 30. That was buoyed by ECM work and the rising share prices of Westoz Investment Company and Ozgrowth Ltd.

In July, Euroz and Macquarie Capital were in the market with a placement for Independence Group. Imdex tapped Euroz in August to manage a share placement. 

The firm is also said to be managing float preparations for engineering company Veem. 

Euroz which is also pushing into the funds management and wealth space told investors group funds under management amounted to more than $1 billion. 

Perth-based rival Patersons Securities remained in the red for a fifth straight year in 2015-16, and is undertaking cost cutting and restructuring in an attempt to stem losses.

Sydney-based Shaw and Partners remained in the black and posted a 17 per cent increase in net profit to $1.3 million for the 12 months ended June 30.

​Ord Minnett also posted a rise in net profit to $10.8 million last fiscal year.
 

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Citi managing director and former head of Australian equities research Bruce Rolph is leaving the firm and heading back to university. 

Rolph announced his retirement from Citi on Friday, ending a 20-plus year career with the US investment bank. 

"...the time has come for me to move on to a new but long-cherished career challenge. So following a short break over the next couple of months (Burgundy beckons + an MIT short-course in Big Data), I will commence full-time study in early 2017 for a Masters in Environmental Management at UNSW," he told colleagues on Friday morning. 

"Thereafter, the plan is to find something both enjoyable and really useful to do for the world."

Rolph's career at Citi included 10-years as director of research for Australia and New Zealand, before he stepped back to take a global product role last year.

He also created The Globaliser - a macro newsletter and chartpack regularly distributed to clients - back in October 2000. 

Citi's global head of research Andrew Pitt told staff: "Bruce is widely respected for his professionalism, integrity and longstanding championing of all things global.

"Indeed, all of us know Bruce for the 'Globaliser' which he created back in 2000 and which has enjoyed consistently high client readership. As testament to this, we intend to maintain the Globaliser brand as Bruce moves on."

Craig Woolford will continue to run the local equities research team, while Tony Brennan is deputy head. 

  

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If the competition regulator refuses to allow Link Group's proposed acquisition of Pillar the company's "logical response" would be to engage the latter's fund customers directly, according to broker UBS.

Analysts led by Adam Lee said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's framing of the competitive landscape was likely to be a "key determinant" in its final decision. 

The NSW government's planned $100 million-plus privatisation of superannuation management platform Pillar hit a snag on Thursday after the ACCC said a sale to Link was likely to substantially lessen competition. The ACCC outlined its concerns in a statement of issues on the proposed transaction. 

"​The detailed Statement of Issues appears to discount competition from in-house administered funds, specifically the retail fund administration platforms and their activities in administering 3rd party funds," Lee said in a note to clients. "As a result, the ACCC has opted to define Link's market share at ~80 per cent of outsourced accounts. If we consider these other areas of competition, we believe Link's market share is closer to 37 per cent of total member accounts (excl. SMSFs)."

UBS believes if Link is blocked from acquiring Pillar it could target its customers instead.

"Link has the capability and unit cost advantage to provide an attractive offering to these (Pillar) customers. Further, Link has successfully migrated almost 5 million Superpartners accounts onto its Aaspire platform over the last 12 months.

"Although a migration without the added control of owning the existing administration platform has its challenges, Link has demonstrated its capabilities with managing large customer transitions."

UBS has a "neutral" rating and $8.40 price target on Link.

"Our $8.40 DCF valuation for Link does not include any consideration for the potential ~$1 valuation upside presented by an acquisition of Pillar. However, we would expect some near term share price softness resulting from the ACCC's preliminary views."

In August, Link revealed that the ACCC was taking a look at its eligibility to buy Pillar. The ACCC is seeking further submissions and plans to deliver a final decision on 15th December 2016.

This column foreshadowed that rival bidders for Pillar including Mercer, Aon,  Anchorage Capital Partners and Pillar's biggest customer First State Super, would benefit from any issues raised by ACCC.

ASX-listed OneVue Holdings was also involved in the auction, but the company's interest is said to have waned. 

Pillar administers more than $100 billion in super and pension accounts belonging to about 1.1 million members.

The NSW government wants the sale wrapped up by the year's end.

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Investec's fingerprints are all over Fantastic Holdings' $360 million agreed deal with South Africa's Steinhoff. 

While Investec is advising the offshore bidder, Fantastic Holdings called the boutique set up by former Investec Australia head Geoff Levy, Monash Private Capital. 

MinterEllison and Watson Mangioni did the legal work. 

The pair announced that they had entered into a scheme of arrangement on Friday morning, with Steinhoff offering Fantastic shareholders $3.50 a share for all of the shares in the company. 

The offer was at a 43 per cent premium to the last close and a 46 per cent premium to the five-day volume weighted average price. 

Steinhoff's local arm, Steinhoff Asia Pacific, is seeking to add Fantastic to its stable which already includes well-known furniture retailers Freedom and Snooze, among others. 

The takeover looks like a done deal with Steinhoff securing support from shareholders representing 50.8 per cent of the Fantastic's shares on issue. 

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Goldman Sachs is in the market for closely-held finance and investment house Wingate, seeking an investor who can help fuel the company's growth plans. 

It's understood Goldman Sachs has approached potential investors on behalf of Wingate in the past fortnight, signing interested parties to confidentiality agreements ahead of a formal process slated for the coming weeks. 

Melbourne-based Wingate is an investment manager and financing business with teams specialising in property, global equities and private equity funds management, and consumer and asset finance. 

Wingate's camp has told potential investors it is seeking an investor to take a meaningful stake in the company and help fund growth, likely to be offshore. 

The business was set up by former Investec Australia managing director Farrel Meltzer more than a decade ago and its investors include Australian and offshore high net worth clients, family offices and some institutional money. 

Its property arm has funded more than $5 billion and invested more than $1 billion in property since 2008, while the global equities business is headed by Chad Padowitz and backed by Australian Unity Investments. 

It'll be interesting to see who takes a closer look. It's something a little bit different in the Australian market - part investment manager, part consumer credit similar to the ASX-listed FlexiGroup - although interested parties have been told there is significant benefits and synergies to having the various arms. 

Wingate's bankers are expected to target potential buyers offshore; the types of parties who may also be able to help Wingate with the expansion plans. 

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