Tabcorp dividend blooper a miss for David Attenborough's advisers

Tabcorp's investors weren't feeling charitable last Thursday when chief executive David Attenborough presented a lower interim profit effected by $43.8 million of one-off costs. The market sell-off pushed shares down 5 per cent (wiping $197 million of their value), and only lower since.

Of that $43.8 million, a fleshy $9.1 million was identified as advisory fees. One can safely assume most of that was related to its proposed takeover of Brisbane-based Tatts Group, and went to its investment bank UBS, whose Kelvin Barry is leading the acquisitor's entreaty. What that much loot gets you in fringe benefits, besides a quick and dirty closing dinner at Global HQ and a few gobfuls of ceviche and Bollinger at the deed signing, is anyone's guess.