Allco sells wind farm
ALLCO Finance Group yesterday made a significant step towards lowering its senior corporate debt, announcing the sale of its US wind development project at a premium price of $US325 million ($345 million).
The Australian Business News - 12:00 a.m. 18 Jun 08
Allco boosted by US sale
SHARES in the troubled Allco Finance Group have almost doubled after it sold its US wind project to pay off outstanding debt.
Courier Mail Business News - 12:00 a.m. 18 Jun 08
Allco blows off wind-farm assets to deflate debt
The embattled Allco Finance Group is looking to cut its most pressing debt problems to $675 million by the end of next month after sealing a deal to sell its prized US wind farm assets.
Sydney Morning Herald Business - 12:00 a.m. 18 Jun 08
Wind farms deal fills Allco’s sails
The share price of the embattled Allco Finance Group almost doubled on news of the sale of its US wind project for $US325 million ($A345 million) and the slicing of its debt by $US230 million.
The Age - 12:00 a.m. 18 Jun 08
Allco Raises $165 Million to Reduce Debt in Wind Farm Sale, Shares Surge
Allco Finance Group , facing a June 30 debt deadline, said it will raise A$165 million from the sale of California’s largest wind power project to help reduce borrowings.
Topix - 4:29 p.m. 17 Jun 08
Allco Finance Sells Tehachapi Wind Farm; Shares Surge (Update3)
Allco Finance Group, facing a June 30 debt deadline, said it will raise A $165 million ( $155 million ) from the sale of California’s largest wind power project to …
Bloomberg - 2:54 p.m. 17 Jun 08
Allco sells off US wind project
ALLCO Finance Group has sold its US wind project for $US325 million ($346 million), as part of a program to sell assets and use the proceeds to pay down debt.
News Ltd Markets - 1:16 p.m. 17 Jun 08
Allco sells wind farm to pay off debt (ABC)
Allco Finance Group has announced it is selling a US asset in a move that will allow it to pay off some of its debt.
Yahoo!7 Business - 2:32 p.m. 17 Jun 08

P/E = Price / Earnings or Price per share / Earnings per share.

Present Value of Growth Opportunities (PVGO) is another alternative method for stock valuation. Present value of growth opportunities is calculated by finding the difference between price of equity with constant growth and price of equity with no growth.

    PVGO = P(Growth) - P(No growth) = [D1/(r-g)] - E/r

where

    P  = Price of equity
    D1 = Dividend for next period
    r  = Cost of Capital
    E  = Earning on equity

The P/E ratio (price-to-earnings ratio) of a stock (also called its “earnings multiple”, or simply “multiple”, “P/E”, or “PE”) is a measure of the price paid for a share relative to the annual income or profit earned by the firm per share.

A higher P/E ratio means that investors are paying more for each unit of income. It is a valuation ratio included in other financial ratios.

The reciprocal of the P/E ratio is known as the earnings yield.

ICE TV IS :: The Australian free-to-air electronic program guide (EPG) for media centers and personal video recorders (PVRs).

The entertainment, video and multimedia market is undergoing sweeping changes. It is currently characterised by an expanding product offering, which nevertheless remains highly heterogeneous due to the fact that it covers devices from fields that were previously separate. At the heart of a digital home is the technical concept known as the Media Centre.

It combines Digital Video Recorder (DVR), also referred to as Personal Video Recorder (PVR), home networking, CD and DVD playback and MP3. Cable TV operators, telcos, consumer electronics and IT companies are all vying for the Media Centre business for the Digital Home. Progress in this market will continue to evolve with more mass market developments expected from 2008 onwards. In 2005 Foxtel launched its new DVR and free-to-air DVRs are now available at selected retailers. Austar is set to launch its DVR in 2007. The key to the success for DVRs is the EPG.
 

In a stunning piece of acquisition action, Photon Group Limited (ASX: PGA )has acquired independent planning shop, Naked Communications. There is currently no announcement of the acquisition lodged with the ASX, but according to sources, the deal includes an initial upfront cash payment of £16.5 million.

Photon entered a trading halt last night, and are expected to resume this morning according to an ASX filing. 

The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) is the primary stock exchange in Australia. The ASX began as separate state-based exchanges established as early as 1871. Today trading is all-electronic and the exchange is a public company, listed on the exchange itself.

The biggest stocks traded on the ASX, in terms of their market capitalization, include BHP Billiton, Telstra, and the National Australia Bank. The mining sector makes up a relatively high proportion of the market, and comparatively few manufacturing stocks are listed.

The major market index is the S&P/ASX 200, an index made up of the top 200 shares in the ASX. This supplanted the previously significant All Ordinaries index, which still runs parallel to the S&P ASX 200. Both are commonly quoted together. An index of only the bigger stocks is the S&P/ASX 50.

The ASX is a public company, and its own shares are traded on the ASX. However, the corporation’s charter restricts maximum individual holdings to a small fraction of the company.

While the ASX regulates other listed companies listed on the ASX, it cannot regulate itself, and is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

LINK: http://www.asx.com.au/

Gindalbie Metals Ltd (ASX: GBG) today announced that it has reached agreement with Monarch Resources Limited (ASX: MRS) to sell its Minjar gold and base metal assets in Western Australia’s Mid West region for a total consideration of $10 million.

Under the agreement, Monarch will acquire a 100% interest in the Minjar assets, including the 600,000tpa Minjar gold treatment facility and gold resources of approximately 400,000oz. All iron ore rights to the Minjar ground will be retained by Gindalbie.

The purchase price of $10 million is payable in stages, with $2.5 million payable in cash on settlement of the transaction, $2.5 million 6 months after settlement (which includes the assumption by Monarch of Gindalbie’s rehabilitation obligations at Minjar and the resultant replacement of performance bonds), and $5 million 12 months after settlement. This final amount will be paid either in cash or Monarch shares, or a combination of both.

The sale of the gold and base metal assets represents another milestone on Gindalbie’s path to become a leading independent Australian iron ore producer, confirming its sole focus on developing the Karara Project in joint venture with AnSteel, China’s second largest steel producer. Gindalbie last week announced a landmark 50:50 joint venture and funding agreement with AnSteel to underpin development of the $1 billion Karara Project.

The proceeds of the gold sale will further strengthen the Company’s cash position which, following completion of the second tranche of the $33 million share placement announced in February (which is subject to shareholder approval at a meeting on 13 April), will be approximately $40 million.

This provides a solid platform for development of the Karara Project, including Gindalbie’s share of the costs of the current Definitive Feasibility Study, ongoing resource drilling and capital start-up costs for the initial hematite phase of the operation (which is due to commence in early 2007). The recently announced AnSteel Joint Venture addresses the funding requirements for the $1 billion Karara Concentrate/Pellet Project.

Gindalbie’s Managing Director, Mr David McSweeney, said the divestment of the non-core gold and base metal assets further reinforced the Company’s focus and commitment to its iron ore strategy, with the proceeds of the sale further strengthening its funding position.

“This puts us in an excellent position to concentrate all of our resources onto our iron ore assets in conjunction with our new joint venture partner, AnSteel,” he added.

“We are pleased to have reached agreement with Monarch Resources regarding the Minjar assets, which comprise a high-quality tenement holding surrounding the world-class Golden Grove base metal mine, a substantial resource base and gold treatment facility which complement Monarch’s gold development strategy in Western Australia,” Mr McSweeney said.

Shares in the world’s second largest explosives maker Dyno Nobel rose 17 per cent upon listing as investors who missed out on the highly prized float chased the stock higher, seeking exposure to the global resources boom. The stellar debut raised questions that the issue price for the 57 per cent of the company’s shares on public offer might have been set too low, but Dyno Nobel chief executive Peter Richards shrugged off the concerns.

Sydney-based Dyno Nobel opened on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) at $2.78, 41 cents higher than the price paid by investors in Australia’s biggest float so far this year. The stock ended its first day of trading at $2.68, up 31 cents, and was the top traded stock with 185.53 million shares worth a total of $501 million changing hands. Mr Richards said the company’s listing was “extraordinary”. “Going into it the momentum was certainly building up but to get this level of interest and excitement is very rewarding,” he said.

The company is seen as attractive investment prospect given rising demand for explosives from miners such as BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd on the back of the China-led global resources boom. Mr Richards said the boom would continue for the next three to five years, with India expected to come in at the tail-end and support the cycle. Fat prophets senior resources analyst Gavin Wendt said while the issue price could have been set higher, it was hard to second-guess the pace of the China-led resources boom. “The goal-posts seem to be moving from week to week given that sentiment in the sector keeps on improving,” he said. “They have to draw the line somewhere.”

Dyno Nobel is second to only to Melbourne-based Orica Ltd in the manufacture and distribution of commercial explosives and has a strong presence in the two of the three largest explosives markets in the world. It was acquired by Macquarie Bank and a group of unidentified investors for $2.23 billion last September. The group held on to Dyno Nobel’s operations in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States but sold the remaining businesses to Orica for $900 million. Mr Richards said Dyno Nobel would look at re-entering the markets it had exited through the sale of those assets to Orica.

“There’s no impediments for us to go back into those markets,” he said. The company’s current growth opportunities included its existing operations in the US and Australia, but its was also looking at expanding into Asia and Latin America within the next 12 months, Mr Richards said. Dyno Nobel was “well on track” to meet its prospectus forecast after a strong first quarter, he added. It has forecast proforma revenue of about $US1.19 billion for fiscal 2006 compared to $US1.14 billion in 2005 under an equity method accounting basis.

LINK http://www.dynonobel.com

ASX to buy SFE

SYDNEY: The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) said it would buy the Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE) for A$2.4bil in stock to boost revenues as its own growth starts to slow. Shares in futures exchange operator SFE Corp Ltd jumped 27% to a record while shares of the ASX rose 8%. The price moves lifted the market value of the combined entity to A$6bil, just ahead of the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc.

“This is a strategic and a logical move, something which the market has been speculating on for a while now,” said Troy Angus, a portfolio manager with BT Financial Group, which manages about A$10bil in Australian shares. “But valuations are fairly full for both the stocks, and any share price gains will depend on the synergies that can be achieved.” At yesterday’s close, ASX traded at 27.5 times June 2006 forecast earnings per share and the bid values SFE at 31.1, both more than double the ratio seen across Australia’s benchmark S&P ASX 200 Index, based on the Reuters data.

Listed stock exchanges have enjoyed hefty premiums as a wave of mergers and acquisitions sweep global bourses. The London Stock Exchange Plc, which trades at 33 times projected earnings, has rejected a US$4.2bil offer from Nasdaq. ASX is offering 0.51 of its shares for each SFE share, valuing SFE at A$17.95 a share, or A$2.4bil, based on the closing share prices.  ASX shares hit a two-month closing peak of A$35.20 while SFE shares jumped 27% to A$17.95. – Reuters 

DRDGold announced on Friday that due to delays in finalising audit-reviewed half-yearly accounts for the period ended December 2005, the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) had suspended trading of its shares. The local gold miner noted that the requirement to prepare audit-reviewed half-yearly accounts is an ASX requirement and is not a requirement of the other major stock exchanges on which the company is listed.

DRDGold added that the suspension does not affect trading in DRDGold shares on other stock exchanges, including the JSE, Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange. Due to “very low historical trading levels” on the ASX, DRDGold intents to refocus on its African operations and seek removal from the Australian exchange, the group said. DRDGold shares on the JSE had lost 2.8 percent by the close on Friday.

Shareholder centre

The ASX shareholder centre is an online resource for existing and prospective shareholders of ASX.