Gold explorer Breaker Resources has Patersons Securities in its corner to help raise up to $10 million. 

According  to a term sheet sent to investors, the company is conducting a placement and share purchase plan. 

The raising has an issue price of 70¢ per share.

Investors were told the proceeds would fund "continued drilling programs" at the Lake Roe Gold Project and also be used for working capital.

Breaker's flagship asset is the Lake Roe project located 100km east of Kalgoorlie.

.

• Share
• Share via Email
• Share on Google Plus
• Post on facebook wall
• Share on twitter
• Post to Linkedin
• Share on Reddit

Australia's miners could be enjoying a delicious plate of coq au vin at the end of their shift after French food services and facilities management giant Sodexo agreed to buy Morris Corp. 

Street Talk understands the Paris-headquartered Sodexo has snapped up the company that keeps the miners of Australia fed, watered and sheltered, for about $100 million. 

Morris, which provides a broad range of catering, cleaning and maintenance services to remote mining camps, was half-owned by private equity firm Catalyst Investment Management, with the other 50 per cent held by a wealthy West Australian family.

Sources said Sodexo saw off interest from Danish outsourcing giant ISS and London-listed Compass Group.

As this column revealed, the mandate to sell Morris Corp was awarded to Greenhill Australia in December last year.

Elsewhere, Adventist HealthCare has launched a sale process for Dalcross Private Hospital, located in Killara, on Sydney's upper north shore, which will target aged care operators, lifestyle communities and residential developers.

There's also expected to be interest from various doctor groups wanting to maintain their practices or develop specialist practices in this part of Sydney.

Sources said the asset could fetch as much as $40 million with an information memorandum to hit pigeon-holes this week. 

Adventist HealthCare is owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and operates a number of healthcare businesses including Sydney Adventist Hospital (NSW's largest private hospital), San Day Surgery Hornsby and San Radiology.

 

• Share
• Share via Email
• Share on Google Plus
• Post on facebook wall
• Share on twitter
• Post to Linkedin
• Share on Reddit

Canaccord has sold a block of shares in online retailing business Kogan on behalf of the company's founder. 

It is understood three institutions earlier bid Ruslan Kogan for a small portion of his shareholding at $3 a share.

The trade, which is worth about $20 million, will be executed overnight.

• Share
• Share via Email
• Share on Google Plus
• Post on facebook wall
• Share on twitter
• Post to Linkedin
• Share on Reddit

National Australia Bank has kicked off a far-reaching strategic review of its wealth business, Street Talk understands. 

In another sign that cross-selling of banking and wealth products can be fraught with issues, the bank is said to be assessing several options including selling parts or all of the division, or retaining it.

Chief customer officer and consumer and wealth boss Andrew Hagger is keeping close tabs on the review, flanked by MLC chief Super Matt Lawrance.

NAB isn't in a hurry to reach a conclusion and will run a fine tooth comb through the wealth business to assess how to best navigate some of the challenges. 

The bank and its executives are also keen to see the outcome of ANZ Banking Group's wealth sale, which includes life insurance and funds management. Final ANZ Wealth bids are due mid-September.

Sources said the NAB review was being conducted internally and any outcomes were 12 to 18 months away. 

NAB's latest results showed wealth revenues fell to $533 million in the six months ended March 31, from $544 million in the same period a year earlier.

NAB's total funds under management and administration amounted to $204.9 billion.

Interestingly, the major banks have often struggled to make the big inroads by cross selling products across wealth and other lending areas.

And their wealth units have caused a string of regulatory problems.  

Last year, NAB had 43 financial planners exit the company after they were found to have conflicts of interest, provided inappropriate advice or breached compliance practices.

The key thing to remember is that NAB led by chief executive Andrew Thorburn has looked to retreat from businesses he deems non-core, including its operations in the United Kingdom. 

The bank was also first out of the blocks among its rivals to free up capital by selling 80 per cent of its life insurance division. In 2015, NAB sold the MLC Life stake to Nippon Life for $2.4 billion.

NAB has also been busy on the cost cutting front and its quarterly trading update expressed confidence that it would meet an annual target of more than $200 million 

Elsewhere, as first reported by this column, two of Goldman Sachs' long-standing executive directors have left the investment bank.

Research analyst Adam Alexander and equity sales trader Harry Boghossian resigned this week.

Alexander was head of coverage for the consumer, retail and entertainment sectors and joined Goldman in 2004. 

 It is understood he is taking up a role at Evans & Partners' asset management unit.

• Share
• Share via Email
• Share on Google Plus
• Post on facebook wall
• Share on twitter
• Post to Linkedin
• Share on Reddit

The news of another 650 megawatts of renewable energy to be pumped into the Victorian electricity market comes at a tricky time for France's Engie.

The utility's sale process for its Loy Yang B brown coal generator in Victoria, run by Rothschild, is already playing out in a wholesale power market that is off its peaks of earlier this year.

Then came the state government's circa $1.3 billion renewable energy tender that will bring in another batch of wind and solar plants generating at near-zero cost. That will ramp up the pressure on coal plants, just as South Australia saw in the lead-up to the shutdown of Northern in May 2016.

The final bid date for the 953-megawatt Loy Yang B was to be next Tuesday, but has been deferred to mid-September, giving the bidders another couple of weeks to consider the shifting sands.

This year has also seen the go-ahead of the 530 MW Stockyard Hill wind farm in Victoria, now owned by China's Goldwind, and the start of construction of 320 MW of solar projects near Mildura. In all, at least 2000 MW of renewables capacity is expected to start up in Victoria over the next three years.

Whether the final bids live up to the $1 billion price expectations for Loy Yang B remains to be seen as the likely impact on forward prices and therefore valuations is factored in.

Lining up among the bidders are understood to be Alinta Energy's new owner Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, Trevor St Baker's Delta Electricity and private equity firm Brookfield, despite the latter's environmental commitments. Less certain is the interest from New York-based Blackstone and China Resources, although they cannot be ruled out.

Elsewhere, proven dealmaker Ian Middlemas has hired award-winning metals analyst Jo Battershill, as revealed by Street Talk on Wednesday. 

It is understood the well-regarded Battershill has been hired as a corporate executive at Salt Lake Potash, which is chaired by Middlemas and listed in Australia and London.

Battershill spent 10 years at UBS, leaving the bank's Sydney office in 2015 and relocating to London where he became global co-ordinator for the metals and mining team.

The hire will be viewed favourably for Middlemas, who is one of junior mining's busiest and most successful directors. 

• Share
• Share via Email
• Share on Google Plus
• Post on facebook wall
• Share on twitter
• Post to Linkedin
• Share on Reddit