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kittydashwood
18-09-2006, 07:06 AM
One wonders how conservative investment strategies will be affected "going forward"...

from http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/bampb-wind-chief-sells-stake-in-company/2006/09/17/1158431589129.html
B&B Wind chief sells stake in company

Kate Askew
September 18, 2006
* Bab****completes capital raising
* B&B plans to use $400m raising to feather US nest

AS BAB****& Brown Wind Partners battles lower earnings and poor investor sentiment, it has emerged that chief executive Peter O'Connell has sold his entire stake in the company.

Early last month the specialist wind energy company surprised the sharemarket with a profit warning after what it described as "particularly unusually low wind conditions in May and June". The company's securities slumped to a record low of $1.25.

By August 14, 11 days later, Mr O'Connell presented investors with a detailed explanation of the difficulties besetting the company.

He reiterated the company had also struggled with delays in the acquisition of three Olivo wind farms in Spain, and construction of the Neiderrhein wind farm in Germany.

Only three months earlier the company had gone to institutional investors asking for funds, and had raised $118.6 million from a book-build.

Mr O'Connell owned 716,000 stapled securities in the company. Because Mr O'Connell is not a director of Bab****& Brown Wind Partners, and is not required to disclose his holdings immediately to the Australian Stock Exchange, it is not clear when he sold his securities.

Depending on when Mr O'Connell sold, and based on the trading range of Bab****& Brown Wind Partners of $1.25 to $1.93, his stake could have sold for anything between $895,000 and $1.38 million.

Mr O'Connell's decision is at odds with the actions of Bab****& Brown's board. Company chairman Peter Hofbauer, who is also the global head of Bab****& Brown's infrastructure and project finance business, has increased his stake in the company this year.

Between July 10 and July 14, a month before the surprise downgrade was made public, Mr Hofbauer bought 717,166 securities, spending over $1.1 million.

By September 7, the Bab****& Brown Wind board had sought to offset the impact of a worse than expected performance by upgrading the company's 2007 distribution from 11.2˘ to 12.5˘ when it released the full-year loss.

Having predicted a $13.5 million full-year profit in its prospectus last year, the company irritated investors with a $16.2 million loss.

At the time, Mr O'Connell said in a media release that "2006 has been a busy and productive year… Bab****& Brown Wind completed an extensive acquisition program: this saw the portfolio increase from four fully operational wind farms at the IPO, to 16." On a conference call, he said there was no need for more "material" capital raisings in the short term.

Mr O'Connell did not return calls for comment yesterday.

The former lawyer with Minter Ellison and Gilbert & Tobin was an Optus director before he went to PBL as an executive director, and then to Ten Network. Before moving to Bab****& Brown Wind Partners, Mr O'Connell was most recently managing director of Multiplex's infrastructure division.

Bab****& Brown Wind Partners last traded at $1.42, just above the IPO price last October of $1.40.[xx(][xx(][xx(]

kittydashwood
20-09-2006, 05:22 AM
AFX News Limited
John Laing agrees 886.9 mln stg offer from fund manager Henderson UPDATE
09.19.2006, 07:34 AM

LONDON (AFX) - UK fund manager Henderson Group PLC said it agreed to acquire construction firm John Laing PLC for 886.9 mln stg, in the latest move by a financial company buying into infrastructure projects.

Laing's ordinary shareholders will get 355 pence cash per share, valuing the ordinary share capital at 832.6 mln stg, while preference shareholders will be given 138 pence a share, giving a total of 54.3 mln stg.

Shareholders will still be entitled to the 1.3 pence interim dividend under the terms of the deal.

The asset manager said it is acquiring Laing through Henderson Infrastructure Holdco Ltd, a newly incorporated company formed at the instruction of Henderson Equity Partners on behalf of Henderson Infrastructure Funds.

It follows moves by other fund managers and banks to buy non-financial companies that have large infrastructure projects. Laing has a great deal of Public Finance Initiative projects with the UK government for public works such as roads, schools and hospitals.

Henderson said it has so far secured 23.7 pct of Laing, plus the shares owned by board members, adding another 0.3 pct. Henderson has 'non-binding' commitments to support its bid from Legal and General Investment Management, which has 36,080,203 ordinary shares, or 15.4 pct, and Schroder Investment Management, which has 18,608,490 ordinary shares or 8 pct.

Henderson also has a break fee of 8.9 mln stg should Laing be acquired by another bidder. The firm said the Laing board would still have to vote in favour of its bid even if a higher offer comes in elsewhere.

The Henderson deal represents a premium of 28.9 pct to the ordinary share price of 275.5 pence at the close of business last Wednesday, the last day before the announcement by Laing that it had received an approach.

A spokesperson for the firm said there was no indication yet whether other bidders would emerge, although there has been speculation that infrastructure funds such as Macquarie may be interested.

William Forrester, chairman of Laing said: 'We believe that the proposals provide shareholders with an attractive cash price which fairly reflects the quality of Laing's portfolio and established position in the infrastructure and PFI/PPP markets.

'Combining Laing's operational skill base with Henderson Equity Partners' financial capacity should help to ensure Laing's continued development in the UK and underpin its expansion into overseas markets.'

Paul Woodbury, Partner of Henderson Equity Partners, said: 'We are delighted that the Laing directors have decided unanimously to recommend the proposals to Laing's shareholders which are at significant premia to Laing's share prices in the three months prior to the announcement by Laing that it had received an approach.'

Rothschild is acting as financial adviser to HIH in connection with the acquisition. HIH also received financial advice from JPMorgan Cazenove.

Greenhill is acting as financial adviser to Laing and its brokers are Bridgewell Ltd and Panmure Gordon.

newsdesk@afxnews.com

kittydashwood
22-09-2006, 08:58 PM
Andrew West
Tunnel rip-off: your ideas for revenge

THREE BILLION DOLLARS. Take this figure, slosh it around in your mouth to absord its bitter flavour, then spit it out. Because that's the cost of the secret deal done between the Carr-Iemma government and the operators of Sydney's scandalous cross-city tunnel - $100 million a year for the next 30 years equals $3,000 million. We know what the government is doing about it: nothing. "Helpless, we're helpless," they bleat. But what are you going to do?

These public-private partnerships embraced so fanatically by the NSW "Labor" government these past ten years have been a honeypot for the big end of town and, in particular, Macquarie Bank, which happens to former premier Bob Carr's new employer.

It's the same old story. These partnerships allow corporate giants to privatise the profits and socialise the losses. You and I pay if the project goes belly up. And that's exactly what's happening to the Cross City Tunnel. It's so outrageously expensive to use that motorists are, correctly, boycotting it.

We have only just learned the ugly truth about this shoddy, shameful relationship because the Carr-Iemma government has, until forced to do so last night, concealed the contract.

But what we do know warrants some serious payback. So the private toll road company can make its motza, you are being denied access to public roads. In the highly unlikely event that this government improves public transport around the tunnel, you, the taxpayer, fork out again, this time between $39 million and $54 million, to the corporate owners.

So let's talk about what we can do.

The most obvious thing is to wait 18 months until the next state election and throw the brigands out. But in the meantime, the public needs to vent its fury in a practical way.

Take full and cynical advantage of the three-week free tunnel period, then go back to boycotting it. Mount a public interest advocacy case to challenge the binding nature of the contract, all the way to the High Court, if necessary. Use the bus, which is probably the best idea, anyway.

But do something, anything, to let this government know that we're as mad as hell.

kittydashwood
05-10-2006, 09:23 PM
Indonesian ultility anyone?

Morgan Stanley's Xie Quit After Singapore E-Mail

By Netty Ismail

Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Andy Xie's resignation as Morgan Stanley's chief economist in Asia last week followed an e-mail in which he characterized Singapore as an economic failure that is dependent on illicit money from Indonesia and China.

Xie, who worked at Morgan Stanley for nine years, sent the e-mail to his colleagues after attending the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings last month in the Southeast Asian island state. The 46-year-old Shanghai-born economist questioned why Singapore was chosen to host the conference and said delegates ``were competing with each other to praise Singapore as the success story of globalization.''

``Actually, Singapore's success came mostly from being the money laundering center for corrupt Indonesian businessmen and government officials,'' Xie, who was based in Hong Kong before leaving Morgan Stanley on Sept. 29, wrote in the e-mail. ``Indonesia has no money. So Singapore isn't doing well.''

Singapore's $118 billion economy is recovering from three recessions since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and is expecting growth of as much as 7.5 percent this year. The city- state is grappling with growing competition from China and India, two of the world's most populous nations, where labor costs are less than a quarter of those in Singapore.

In Guangzhou

Officials from the public relations departments of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the government's information service declined to comment on the contents of the e-mail. They also declined to be identified.

Xie, 46, declined to comment on his departure when contacted on his mobile phone on Oct. 2 and said he hasn't decided on what he will do next.

``I'm not at liberty to comment on anything,'' Xie said. ``I'm in Guangzhou and I'm taking a break on top of a mountain. It's quite nice here.''

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in September that Singapore's economy may sustain annual growth of 3 percent to 5 percent for the next 10 to 15 years as the country expands industries from information technology to tourism.

``To sustain its economy, Singapore is building casinos to attract corruption money from China,'' Xie said.

Singapore is ending a four-decade ban on casinos. The government plans to triple tourism revenue to $19 billion and double visitors to 17 million by 2015.

Morgan Stanley confirmed the contents of the e-mail and said the New York-based firm doesn't elaborate on the reasons behind employee departures.

``This is an internal e-mail based on personal suppositions and aimed at stimulating internal debate amongst a small group of intended recipients,'' Cheung Po-ling, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for the world's largest securities firm by market value, said in a written statement. ``The e-mail expresses the views of one individual and does not in any way represent the views of the firm.''

`Strong Supporter'

``Morgan Stanley has been a very strong supporter of Singapore and has a great deal of respect for Singapore's achievements,'' Cheung said.

Morgan Stanley ranks sixth among merger advisers in Singapore this year, handling $1.5 billion of deals, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It advised Temasek Holdings Pte., the Singapore government's investment company, in its purchase of a 9.9 percent stake in Mumbai-based Tata Teleservices Ltd. in March. Morgan Stanley, which ranks third among stock sale arrangers in Asia outside Japan this year, hasn't underwritten any deal in Singapore this year, according to Bloomberg data.

``I tried to find out why Singapore was chosen to host the conference,'' Xie wrote in the e-mail. ``Nobody knew. Some said that probably no one else wanted it. Some guessed that Singapore did a good selling job. I thought it was a strange choice because Singapore was so far from any action or the hot topic of China and India. Mumbai or Shanghai would be a lot more appropriate.''

`Fawning' Guests

At a dinner party hosted by Sin