Company news in brief
Deloitte reviewing summons over Steinhoff audit
The Deloitte branch in the Netherlands has received a writ of summons from Dutch investor group, the VEB, over its audit of Steinhoff, and is currently reviewing the document, according to Lwazi Bam, CEO of Deloitte Africa.
Bam added in an emailed response that Deloitte Netherlands had indicated it would not provide any further comment.
The VEB announced on its website on Tuesday that it had served Deloitte Netherlands with a summons to appear before the District Court of Rotterdam "for the damage suffered by the Steinhoff shareholders".
-Fin24
Aveng shares leap as M&R moves closer to tie-up
Shareholders in South Africa’s Murray & Roberts voted on Tuesday for the company to look into a potential tie up with construction rival Aveng, sending Aveng’s shares around 25 percent higher.
The resolution got the backing of 52.06% of votes at the Murray & Roberts’ (M&R) annual shareholder meeting.
M&R and Aveng announced the potential merger in May, saying it would create scale in M&R’s key markets such as Australasia and Africa, while shoring up liquidity in loss-making Aveng in the near term.
-Nampa/Reuters
Fox to craft script for M&A summer blockbuster
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc’s board is set to decide on Wednesday whether to entertain Comcast Corp’s US$65 billion cash bid for the New York-based media company or stick with its roughly US$52 billion all-stock offer from Walt Disney Co , people familiar with the matter said.
Disney and Comcast are battling to win Fox’s movie and television studios at a time when legacy media and distribution companies are looking to expand to better compete with younger media firms like Netflix Inc that sell their content directly to viewers. Fox’s international assets such as Star India appeal to both Disney and Comcast, which want to expand their global presence.
-Nampa/Reuters
Vitol launches Viva Energy float
Global energy trader Vitol kicked off the planned A$5 billion (US$3.7 billion) float of its Australian refinery and fuel supply network Viva Energy on Wednesday, in what would be the country’s biggest initial public offering in four years.
The sale of the unit, which supplies about a quarter of Australia’s fuel, is Vitol’s second IPO this year after the London listing of an African fuel business and is expected to raise up to A$3 billion for the energy trader and its partners, who will retain a 40 to 50% stake.
It comes amid a shake-up of Australia’s petrol retailing, with BP looking to take over top grocer Woolworths’ petrol stations and Caltex Australia ditching its franchise model to run its own operations.
-Nampa/Reuters
Starbucks closing cafes
Starbucks Corp forecast on Tuesday slower sales growth than Wall Street expected this quarter and plans to close about 150 US cafes next fiscal year to boost performance, sending its shares down 2% after hours.
The world’s largest coffee chain is facing competition both from upscale coffee houses and lower-priced fast-food chains like McDonald’s Corp and Dunkin’ Donuts .
It has missed analysts’ estimates for same-store sales in the US-dominated Americas region in five of the last six quarters.
The company anticipates lower net new store growth in the United States for fiscal 2019 and said it would address rapidly changing consumer preferences by introducing new cold drinks like a mango dragon fruit beverage and focusing on growing health and wellness trends.
-Nampa/Reuters
The Deloitte branch in the Netherlands has received a writ of summons from Dutch investor group, the VEB, over its audit of Steinhoff, and is currently reviewing the document, according to Lwazi Bam, CEO of Deloitte Africa.
Bam added in an emailed response that Deloitte Netherlands had indicated it would not provide any further comment.
The VEB announced on its website on Tuesday that it had served Deloitte Netherlands with a summons to appear before the District Court of Rotterdam "for the damage suffered by the Steinhoff shareholders".
-Fin24
Aveng shares leap as M&R moves closer to tie-up
Shareholders in South Africa’s Murray & Roberts voted on Tuesday for the company to look into a potential tie up with construction rival Aveng, sending Aveng’s shares around 25 percent higher.
The resolution got the backing of 52.06% of votes at the Murray & Roberts’ (M&R) annual shareholder meeting.
M&R and Aveng announced the potential merger in May, saying it would create scale in M&R’s key markets such as Australasia and Africa, while shoring up liquidity in loss-making Aveng in the near term.
-Nampa/Reuters
Fox to craft script for M&A summer blockbuster
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc’s board is set to decide on Wednesday whether to entertain Comcast Corp’s US$65 billion cash bid for the New York-based media company or stick with its roughly US$52 billion all-stock offer from Walt Disney Co , people familiar with the matter said.
Disney and Comcast are battling to win Fox’s movie and television studios at a time when legacy media and distribution companies are looking to expand to better compete with younger media firms like Netflix Inc that sell their content directly to viewers. Fox’s international assets such as Star India appeal to both Disney and Comcast, which want to expand their global presence.
-Nampa/Reuters
Vitol launches Viva Energy float
Global energy trader Vitol kicked off the planned A$5 billion (US$3.7 billion) float of its Australian refinery and fuel supply network Viva Energy on Wednesday, in what would be the country’s biggest initial public offering in four years.
The sale of the unit, which supplies about a quarter of Australia’s fuel, is Vitol’s second IPO this year after the London listing of an African fuel business and is expected to raise up to A$3 billion for the energy trader and its partners, who will retain a 40 to 50% stake.
It comes amid a shake-up of Australia’s petrol retailing, with BP looking to take over top grocer Woolworths’ petrol stations and Caltex Australia ditching its franchise model to run its own operations.
-Nampa/Reuters
Starbucks closing cafes
Starbucks Corp forecast on Tuesday slower sales growth than Wall Street expected this quarter and plans to close about 150 US cafes next fiscal year to boost performance, sending its shares down 2% after hours.
The world’s largest coffee chain is facing competition both from upscale coffee houses and lower-priced fast-food chains like McDonald’s Corp and Dunkin’ Donuts .
It has missed analysts’ estimates for same-store sales in the US-dominated Americas region in five of the last six quarters.
The company anticipates lower net new store growth in the United States for fiscal 2019 and said it would address rapidly changing consumer preferences by introducing new cold drinks like a mango dragon fruit beverage and focusing on growing health and wellness trends.
-Nampa/Reuters
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