ANZ Drops Out; Noble Says No to Macarthur

Darlington Musarurwa
20 Apr, 2010
New York City

Stocks in Australia traded higher after world markets rebounded and commodities prices increased. The RBA in its statement noted stronger

[R]3:00 AM New York, 7:00 PM Sydney – Stocks in Australia traded higher after world markets rebounded and commodities prices increased. The RBA in its statement noted stronger “terms of trade” in its minutes of rate setting meeting. ANZ drops out of a bidding race to acquire AXA Asia Pacific. Noble Group shareholders vote down its deal with Macarthur Coal Ltd.[/R]

The Australian benchmark index closed fractionally higher after resource stocks gained and gold prices jumped 0.5% to $1,141 an ounce and crude oil prices increased 1% to $82.20 per barrel.

In Sydney trading ASX 200 Index rose 0.2% or 10.7 to 4,925.80.

Of the ASX 200 index stocks, 101 rose, 79 fell, and 20 were unchanged. Mineral Resources led gainers in the index with 4.6% gain followed by Centennial Coal climbing 4.6%.

Other commodity stocks gained. Atlas Iron edged up 3.3% to A$2.83 and Sundance Resources increased 3.2% to A$0.16.

The Australian dollar gained 0.8% to 93.08 U.S. cents.

Noble Says No to Gloucester Deal

Macarthur Coal said today that following the decision by Noble shareholders to block the proposed disposal of interests in Gloucester Coal to the company and interests in the Middlemount Joint Venture “it is unlikely that the Gloucester and Noble transactions will proceed in their current form.”

According to the report, the Macarthur board is currently considering the consequences the decision for Macarthur’s takeover offer for Gloucester and its acquisition of Noble’s interests in Middlemount.

Earlier Noble announced that if its transaction with Gloucester doesn’t proceed it will increase its interest in the Middlemount venture to 50% and retain the right to sell 100% of the output for the life of the mine.

Noble also indicated that it may review its rights under the Monto project.

“Nevertheless, Macarthur will seek to continue discussions with its Middlemount Joint Venture partner, Noble and Noble''s 87% controlled entity, Gloucester, to assess potential alternative transactions that may be strategically valuable to Macarthur shareholders,” said Macarthur Coal.

ANZ Drops Out from AXA Asia Deal

ANZ said it will not launch a fresh bid for AXA Asia Pacific after its A$14 billion takeover offer was blocked by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

AMP is the now the sole bidder for AXA Asia Pacific.

ANZ is now concentrating on integrating ING Australia and growing its wealth management business, according to its spokesperson.

“Our present and sole focus at the moment is integrating ING Australia and on organic growth in the wealth management market,” a spokesman told TheAustralian.com.

RBA Estimates Stronger Terms of Trade

Reserve Bank of Australia announced today in minutes of the monetary meeting of the board held on April 6 that the authorities opted not to delay the increase in the benchmark interest rate because the prospective rise of terms of trade were now stronger-than-expected.

The RBA also indicated that the level of interest rates must be close to average as the growth in the domestic economy is projected to be around projected trend and inflation is expected to be around the medium-term target at 2.5%.

“Overall, members considered that the outlook for the economy suggested that there was a case for a further move in the process of returning interest rates to more normal levels,” noted the RBA in the accompanying statement.

ASX Movers

Wotif.com Holdings Limited led losers in the S&P ASX 200 index with a loss of 9.4% followed by Biota Holdings Limited 5.4%, Harvey Norman Holdings Limited 5.0%, PaperlinX Limited 4.4% and Flight Centre Limited 3.8%.

Marathon Resources Limited led gainers in the S&P ASX 200 index with a rise of 4.8% followed by Mount Gibson Iron Limited 4.7%, Centennial Coal Company Limited 4.5% and Lynas Corporation Limited 3.9%.

Other Movers

AMP Limited fell 1.7% to A$6.29 after the asset manager, AMP Capital Shopping Centre Fund confirmed on Tuesday it expects to price its issue of A$200 million ($185 million) five-year bonds by Wednesday.

AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Limited fell 3.0% to A$6.14 after the Australia''s competition regulator opposed National Australia Bank Ltd A$13.29 billion plan to buy the company.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 0.4% to A$59.36.

Fortescue Metals Group Ltd rose 1.9% to A$5.18 after the iron ore producer’s shipments jumped 53% in the third quarter.

Harvey Norman Holdings Limited fell 5.3% to A$3.39 as the furniture and electronics retailer nine months sales increased 2.2% to A$4.64 billion, lower than estimated by some analysts.

National Australia Bank Limited added 2.7% to A$28.84 after the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission rejected the bank’s proposed takeover of Axa Asia Pacific Holdings.

Newcrest Mining Limited fell 0.9% to A$33.68 after the company said it is ready to improve its bid for Lihir Gold Limited, enabling Lihir Gold Limited shareholders to take more cash or scrip depending on their preference.