"A Dream Finally Realised" - Auckland Council Leases Land

Good Morning,

Auckland’s councillors have approved a budget consultation document that includes a 25.8% rise for Watercare fees, and presents options for a rates rise from 5.5% to 14%, Grant Robertson will retire from politics in March, to lead the University of Otago, and Police are investigating whether a martial arts master who is in Westmead Hospital with stab wounds is linked to the horrific deaths of a husband, wife and child in Sydney’s north-west.

Let's jump in.

Before The Bell

Markets

• The NZX falls 0.7 per cent on Tuesday, to 11,571.22 leaving the YTD in the red by 1.6 per cent.

• The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed down 6.1 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 7659, pulling further away from an all-time high of 7703.6 reached earlier this month. Five out of the index’s 11 sectors were in the red, led by miners and energy. The All Ordinaries ended flat at 7911.5. (AFR)

Earnings and Data

• Auckland’s councillors have approved a budget consultation document that includes a 25.8% rise for Watercare fees, and presents options for a rates rise from 5.5% to 14%. (Stuff)

• Expectational losses totalling US$5.7 billion ($9.28b) – from the failure of Samarco dam, where the disaster killed 19 people, and the bottom dropping out of the nickel market – has dropped BHP’s profit for the half year by 86% to US$900 million. (NBR)

• KMD stock was down more than 14% to 53 cents per share by early Tuesday afternoon but fell as low as 47c after the update. The company behind Kathmandu, Rip Curl, and Oboz expected group sales for the six months ended January 31 to be down 14.5% to $469 million as a result of ongoing lower consumer demand. (NBR)

• Ryman Healthcare’s shares fell more than 11% to an 11-year low on the news that it expects full-year earnings to come in 13% lower than previously guided. (NBR)

• Mining giant BHP Group set the tone early in the session after reporting a slump in underlying profit to $US6.6 billion ($10.1 billion), forcing it to cut its interim dividend to US72¢ from US90¢ and sending its shares down 1.1 per cent to $45.54. (AFR)

News Summary

• A decision 57 years in the making was announced on Tuesday evening, when Auckland Council agreed to lease land on which a new marae would be built, a dream finally realised. (Stuff)

• National is talking tough on welfare reform, with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon saying he expects officials to impose the full force of benefit sanctions and promising further action. (Stuff)

• Grant Robertson will retire from politics in March, to lead the University of Otago. (Stuff)

• Police are investigating whether a martial arts master who is in Westmead Hospital with stab wounds is linked to the horrific deaths of a husband, wife and child in Sydney’s north-west. (Stuff)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

• ANZ will proceed with the A$4.9 billion ($5.27m) acquisition of the banking arm of Queensland-based financial services Suncorp, after winning an appeal against a ruling by Australia’s competition regulator the ACCC. (NBR)

• Armed with a strong balance sheet, Steel & Tube is on the acquisition trail and is looking out for firms that can help accelerate its growth. (NBR)

• ADTY is preparing to get off the ground, engaging Ord Minnett to find it an investor to inject up to $50 million of equity into the acquisition-hungry healthcare group. (AFR)

• Suitors revving up to bid for a controlling stake in Queensland Airport Limited will have to wait a little longer for the auction to begin. (AFR)

• Shaw and Partners has dipped into Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s ranks for the third time in less than six months. (AFR)

• E&P Financial Group’s stock price spike has put the stockbroker and wealth manager on Street Talk’s watch list. (AFR)

• PAG Asia Capital had to wait longer – and spend a little more – to acquire KKR’s Australian Venue Co. But as they say, good things come to those who wait. (AFR)

• HMC Capital set to tap QIC dealmaker for energy transition unit (AFR)

VC & Fundraising

• SG Fleet Group’s second-largest shareholder, LeasePlan Corporation, sent out JPMorgan to seek buyers for a circa $30 million stake after Tuesday’s closing bell. (AFR)

• ANZ is expected to upsize its $1 billion hybrid deal by at least $500 million, after the bank succeeded in overturning the competition regulator’s opposition to its $4.9 billion for Suncorp’s banking business on Tuesday. (AFR)

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