Class action against Lendlease filed in NSW Supreme Court

Maurice Blackburn has confirmed that a class action against Lendlease (ASX: LLC) will go ahead after filing an open class action in the New South Wales Supreme Court today. The class action arises from alleged misleading behaviour from Lendlease who Maurice Blackburn say failed to adequately disclose the long-running problems affecting it...

NAB takes $525M hit as it repays short-changed customers

National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB) has copped a $525 million cost to repay aggrieved customers in the wake of the banking Royal Commission. This $525 million after tax ($749 million before tax) bill accounts for increased provisions for NAB's customer-related remediation program and is expected to cut its 1H19 cash earnings by a whopp...

KKR takeover of MYOB greenlit by shareholders

Shareholders have approved the takeover of business software company MYOB (ASX: MYO), giving Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) the green light. The takeover was on shaky ground for the last month as major shareholder Manikay Partners attempted to buy up enough shares to block the vote. The vote was passed by 73.89 per cent of sha...

MGC Pharma secures Chinese distribution agreement for CBD based products

Chinese demand for Australian products like skincare, vitamins, and produce is no secret but it seems that Australian cannabis manufacturers are now looking to the Asian giant for distribution. MGC Pharma has signed a distribution agreement with Chinese e-commerce import platform YuShop Global to sell the company's CBD and hemp-enhanc...

Smiles Inclusive takes founder Mike Timoney to court

Divided dental company Smiles Inclusive (ASX: SIL) has commenced legal proceedings against beleaguered founder Mike Timoney (pictured) alleging serious misconduct and breaches of the law. The action follows the substantial completion of an interim investigation into the conduct of the ousted former CEO who remains on the board along with ...

Dulux board agrees to $4.2 billion takeover by Nippon

Japan's Nippon Paint has made a $4.2 billion offer to acquire DuluxGroup (ASX: DLX) and the Aussie paint empire has given its unanimous thumbs up, urging shareholders to accept the deal. Nippon has offered to buy the company for a 100 per cent cash consideration of $9.80 per share which represents a substantial 27.8 per cent premium t...

Blackmores reveals unhealthy quarter as company heir takes the reins

The son of the late founder of Blackmores stepped in as interim CEO at the beginning of April and now the company has revealed the state of the group he's inherited. At the end of 3Q19 Blackmores' profit was down 43 per cent to $10 million. Revenue was also down 4 per cent to $141 million. For the first nine months the com...

Longtable completes the acquisition of Maggie Beer Products

The acquisition of Maggie Beer's eponymous line of gourmet foods has been completed by listed food company Longtable (ASX: LON). Longtable now owns 100 per cent of Maggie Beer Products after purchasing the remaining 52 per cent not already owned for $10 million. In order to acquire the remaining 52 per cent of Maggie Beer Products...

ACCC takes Bupa to court for allegedly rorting elderly residents of thousands of dollars

Bupa has come under fire from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for allegedly charging elderly residents thousands of dollars for services they never provided. The ACCC says Bupa Aged Care Australia made false or misleading representations to its aged care residents in 21 homes about services it did not provide or ...

Dairy-Free Down Under dares to be different

One of Australia's only large-scale vegan cheese and dip manufacturers is gaining traction in retail, restaurant and export channels as it cuts a slice of the rapidly-growing market for plant-based foods. Development of the Gold Coast-headquartered brand Dairy-Free Down Under started in 2015, but it wasn't until March 2018 th...

Quinn Emanuel files class action against IOOF

Just under a month after announcing its intention to file a class action law suit against financial advice firm IOOF (ASX: IFL) Quinn Emanuel Urqhart & Sullivan (Quinn Emanuel) has filed the proceedings in the Supreme Court. The class action is part of the industry-wide fallout from the Royal Commission into the banking and finance se...

ACCC takes iSelect to court over its allegedly misleading comparison tool

Comparison service iSelect has wound up in court after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) alleged that its energy plan comparison service was misleading. The watchdog alleges that since November 2016 iSelect has claimed consumers using its website would benefit from iSelect comparing all plans available from its par...

Xenith gives in and backs IPH takeover offer

The materialisation of a mega-firm in the world of intellectual property is one step closer this morning as Xenith IP Group (ASX: XIP) supports a takeover from Australia's largest firm. The board of Xenith has confirmed that it unanimously backs the updated IPH (AX: IPH) offer of an implied value of $2.15 per Xenith share. Under t...

Next's $39 million takeover offer may not be spicy enough for Silver Chef

Private equity firm Next Capital has proposed to acquire Silver Chef (ASX: SIV) for $39 million, but the embattled hospitality company says the deal will need to be sweeter before it considers an acceptance. Silver Chef has been beset by financial issues since it dumped the GoGetta equipment financing brand early last year and as of 30 Ju...

QANTM backs down on Xenith merger

The battle for control of intellectual property business Xenith IP Group (ASX: XIP) has more or less come to a close now that QANTM (ASX: QIP) has backed out of the ring. After QANTM's rival in the courtship of Xenith, IPH (ASX: IPH), increased its takeover bid Xenith gave QANTM until Thursday 11 April to match the bid. But today,...

Challenging half hits BOQ in the pocket

Industry-wide challenges have hurt the Bank of Queensland (ASX: BOQ) during the first half of the 2019 financial year. The bank saw cash earnings after tax down 8 per cent to $167 million and statutory NPAT down 10 per cent to $156 million. Revenue was down slightly by 2 per cent to $544 million. Interim CEO Anthony Rose blamed th...

Sidelined JV partners weigh in on Smiles Inclusive board stoush

Joint venture partners of struggling dental practice Smiles Inclusive (ASX: SIL) are hopeful the current board upheaval could pave the way for an "amicable solution" to a problem they allege has cost around $20 million in lost profit share. Australian Aged Dental Care, which trades as Australian Mobile Dental Care, was one ...

Medicinal cannabis patient numbers "starting to spike" for Althea

Althea now has more staff in London than Melbourne, with expectations its expertise from Australia will bring an advantage over large competitors who have traditionally dealt with easier operating environments. As a relative newcomer to the medicinal cannabis space that only supplied to four patients 11 months ago, Melbourne-based Althea ...

Seven offloads Yahoo7 to Verizon

Seven West Media (ASX: SWM) has today completed the sale of its 50 per cent interest in Yahoo7, with American communications giant Verizon picking up the business for $21 million. Seven now fully owns and operates all of its 'direct to consumer' digital products following the divestment of its share in Yahoo7. When Seven annou...

Loose lips sink ships, Wynn ditches $10 billion Crown takeover

Just one day after the soft announcement of a $10 billion takeover of Crown Resorts (ASX: CWN) by Las Vegas based Wynn Resorts the latter has terminated all discussions about the transaction. The American resort chain released a short statement on Tuesday (US time) saying that the sudden and early announcement of the potential takeover pu...