ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel has removed himself from any further involvement in the ACCC's pending decision on NAB's acquisition of AXA Asia Pacific. This is due to his family's significant investment in embattled DFO, which is seek further financing from a consortium of banks including NAB.   NAB and AXA were consulted about Mr Samuel's position and expressed no concerns over his c

After pulling out of due dilligence a couple of months ago, ANZ have now tendered an 11th-hour $4bn bid for Lone Star's 51% stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB).   Previously, ANZ had cited low financial returns and integration issues in their decision to pull out of the bidding. However, that was when the stake was being valued at nearer $6bn and the transaction does fit ANZ's strate

The Financial Sector Union (FSU) has raised objections with the ACCC to NAB's proposed acquisition of AXA Asia Pacific on the basis it could trigger "mass consolidation" in the financial services sector. Elsewhere within the NAB Group, Challenger announced today that they will spin-off their small companies investment unit into a separate boutique firm.   The FSU is o

As we first predicted in the Calibre Blog several weeks ago, NAB have now announced their intention to sell off AXA's North trading platform to IOOF in a deal expected to be worth only $5m.   This should finally pave the way for NAB to acquire AXA Asia Pacific after weeks of discussion between all 3 parties and the ACCC. The next step is for the ACCC to carry-out mark

Some Straight-forward Cooper Review Facts   FACT: ALL super funds will have to undergo Business Transformation due to the Cooper reforms. Why?   All funds have to develop a member, not industry focussed 'choice architecture' business model.   All funds have to develop a MySuper simple, cost-effective product, with a single, diversified portfolio of investments to suit

I was lucky enough to hear NAB Deputy-CEO Michael Ullmer speak at the Australian British Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Friday. In addition to his comments on business lending, highlighted in today's business columns, I was particularly pleased to hear about NAB's customer driven approach in cutting unpopular fees and the resulting positive cultural impacts within NAB.   Mr Ullmer

It looks like the superannuation industry consolidation expected from the Cooper Review has begun with 5 mergers already announced.   Connect Super and CBUS are pushing ahead with their planned merger. ESI Super and Spec Super have announced they have entered into merger discussions, as have Equipsuper and Vision Super, as well as Maritime Super and Aus

I was pleased to see Alex Thursby, ANZ's chief executive for Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas, state that one of the key criteria for any ANZ bid is that the target could be integrated successfully, along with strategic fit and increased medium term earnings per share.   It is good to see that ANZ share the same view as Calibre that the success or failure of any

For many organisations Mergers and Acquisitions are a significant and important part of implementing corporate strategy for growth, innovation and competitiveness. Indeed M&A's, if well integrated, facilitate expansion into new strategic markets, products and services or simply facilitate consolidation and positioning in existing markets.   Such activities inevitably involve det

Deal making in Australia is expected to accelerate in 2010, with activity seen dominated by financials, resources and consumer-driven sectors, and the dollar's strength likely to play a role.   Last year, Australian companies raised about $100 billion primarily to cut debt and bankers say many firms can now leverage up their balance sheets to make acquisitions as the economy recover