Live ASX News Today
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2nd Aug 05:23 PM AEST
Tlou Energy (ASX:TOU) eyes best day ever on deal with Synergen Met
Shares of Tlou Energy Limited (ASX:TOU) rose as much as 133.3% to AU$0.105, their biggest ever intraday jump.
The Company shared that it has signed a binding Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Synergen Met Pty Ltd, a hydrogen developer which making use of plasma technology.
Tlou Energy stated that the agreement foresees the creation and commissioning of a hydrogen and solid carbon prototype to be mounted at the Lesedi Project in Botswana.
The stock has posted its highest since 12 July 2019 in its fifth straight session of gains.
TOU is down 25% YTD as of the last close and was trading 77.777% at AU$0.080 per share at3:40 PM AEST.
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2nd Aug 04:38 PM AEST
Bionomics (ASX:BNO) jumps most in nine weeks on proposed U.S. IPO
Shares of Bionomics Limited (ASX:BNO) jumped as much as 10% to AU$0.165, their biggest intraday percentage gain since 27 May 2021.
The biopharma firm stated it is planning to conduct a registered initial public offering of American Depositary Shares (ADSs) in the United States and a listing on Nasdaq.
BNO stated each ADS would represent a certain number of fully paid ordinary shares in BNO.
BNO also announced a planned capital distribution to shareholders prior to the proposed U.S offering.
The stock is at its highest level since 23 July and is up ~12% this year, as of the last close.
The stock ended 8.333% higher at AU$0.162 per share today.
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2nd Aug 04:37 PM AEST
Afterpay propels ASX to fresh high; material stocks buck trend
Australian shares started the week on strong note and climbed to a fresh high, led by solid buying across tech space. The market rally was driven by buy now, pay later (BNPL) stocks after sectoral leader Afterpay received a AU$39 billion takeover bid from Square Inc, the payments firm of Twitter Inc co-founder Jack Dorsey. The market sentiment was also boosted by slew of mergers and acquisitions news despite COVID-19 wave.
The ASX200 added 98.80 points or 1.34% to close at 7,491.40, setting a new 100-day high. Earlier today, the equity benchmark opened higher and gained 1.5% in intraday trade to breach 7,500 level during the session.
Among the individual stocks, BNPL major Afterpay (ASX: APT) topped the gainer list by rising 19.5%. Afterpay was followed by rival firm Zip Co Ltd (ASX:Z1P), which rose 8.7%. Other fintech companies such as Sezzle Inc. (ASX:SZL), Splitit Payments (ASX: SPT), Humm Group limited (ASX:HUM) and Openpay Group Ltd (ASX:OPY) also ended higher.
On the flip side, Australia largest construction materials and building products supplier Boral (ASX: BLD) emerged as top laggard, falling 4.8%. It was followed by mining services company Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) which dropped 4.2%.
The equity market witnessed broad-based buying as ten of the 11 sectoral indices ended in positive terrain. Information technology was the biggest gainer of the day as surge in Afterpay shares propelled Australian tech stocks AXIJ to 10-year high. Tech?space closed 6.8% higher, followed by?financial,?which?gained 1.7%. Among others,?health care, utilities, energy, consumer staples and consumer discretionary rose over 1%. ??????
Bucking the trend, material was only loser on sectoral front, closing marginally lower following fall in iron ore prices. The index heavyweights BHP Group (ASX:BHP), Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) ended in red.
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2nd Aug 04:06 PM AEST
Classic Minerals (ASX:CLZ) tumbles on discounted stock offering
Shares of Classic Minerals Ltd (ASX:CLZ) tanked as much as 50% to AU$0.001, their biggest intraday percentage fall since 23 July 2021.
The gold explorer said it will raise up to AU$8.4 million via a share purchase plan (SPP) to eligible shareholders.
The offering is priced at 0.13 Australian cents per share, a discount of 35% to stock's last close.
It stated funds raised will be used for various drilling gold exploration projects.
The stock has doubled in value this year, as of the last close.
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2nd Aug 03:45 PM AEST
Australian miners miss broader rally as China jitters hit iron ore
Image: Piotr Arnoldes from Pexels
Australia's metals and mining index AXMM fell as much as 0.6% to be the only loser, as broader market AXJO jumped 1.4%.
Benchmark iron ore futures DCIOcv1 extended losses into a fifth session after Beijing updated its stance on carbon reduction work, raising worries of an adjustment in output cuts.
Chinese ferrous futures declined, with steel rebar and hot rolled coils both plunging some 6%.
Global miner BHP Group Limited (ASX:BHP) traded flat after falling 1.1% earlier in the session.
Rival Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) down as much as 1.6%, sees worst day in almost two-weeks.
World's fourth-biggest iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) slided 3.4% to hit an almost one-month low.
Losses in AXMM capped by lithium and gold miners posting gains.
AXMM is up 18.3% this year, as of the last close.
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2nd Aug 03:32 PM AEST
Pilbara (ASX:PLS) hits all-time high; Galaxy, Orocobre hover near record peaks
Pilbara Minerals Limited (ASX:PLS) gained as much as 10.5% to an all-time high of AU$1.955, resuming trade after being on a halt since Tuesday.
Peers Galaxy Resources and Orocobre have been trading around record peaks since July and posted strong quarterly output and flagged accelerating demand for lithium and spodumene, used in EVs and their batteries, respectively.
The Company in its quarterly report on Wednesday affirmed strength in global lithium demand and price jump in lithium hydroxide market, driven by China and posted record quarterly shipment of 95,972 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of spodumene concentrate, up from 71,229 dmt for three-months ended March.
As of the last close, PLS and GXY stocks have more than doubled in value this year, while ORE has gained ~85%.
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2nd Aug 02:02 PM AEST
Cipherpoint (ASX:CPT) falls most in nearly one year on discounted placement
Shares of Cipherpoint Limited (ASX:CPT) sank as much as 20% to AU$0.028, their biggest intraday percentage loss since 19 August 2020.
The data security services provider said it has received binding commitments to raise AU$2.9 million via placement.
CPT will be issuing 52.6 million shares at issue price of AU$0.027 per share, a discount of 22.9% to stock's closing price on July 28, when it last traded.
The Company added that funds raised under capital raising will be used for further enhancements to the Company’s Security Operations Centre in North Sydney.
The stock is at its lowest since 25 June 2021.
About 7.2 million shares have been traded so far.
CPT stock is down 24.7% this year as of last close.
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2nd Aug 01:40 PM AEST
Aussie Broadband (ASX:ABB) gains on upbeat results, outlook
Shares of Aussie Broadband Limited (ASX:ABB) jumped as much as 6.3% to AU$3.03, their biggest intraday percentage gain since 18 June.
The internet service provider stated FY21 EBITDA excluding IPO costed expected to be at upper end of previously announced AU$17 million-AU$20 million guidance.
The Company stated its Q4 revenue rose 8% quarter-on-quarter to AU$100.1 million.
ABB added that Q4 overall broadband connections were 400,848, up 7.4% quarter-on-quarter.
About 744,000 shares have been traded so far and ABB stock is up 43.2% this year, as of the last close.
The stock, at 1:30 PM AEST, traded 4.561% higher at AU$2.980 per share.
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2nd Aug 01:18 PM AEST
Poseidon Nickel (ASX:POS) hits low on discounted placement
Shares of Poseidon Nickel Limited (ASX:POS) sank as much as around 13% to AU$0.118, their lowest since 23 July 2021.
The miner stated it has received commitments to raise AU$22 via placement of 200 million shares.
The placement is made at offer price of AU$0.11 per share, a discount of 18.5% to stock's closing price on July 28, when it last traded.
The Company stated it is also targeting AU$3 million via share purchase plan to existing shareholders.
POS said funds raised will be used for undertaking mining and production studies to consider potential recommencement of operations at Black Swan project in Western Australia.
More than 37 million shares have been traded so far.
POS stock traded 12.963% lower at AU$0.117 per share at 1:00 PM AEST.
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2nd Aug 01:02 PM AEST
ASX-listed Oil Search (ASX:OSH) jumps after Santos (ASX:STO) revises bid to $6.20 billion
Shares of the Papua New Guinea-focused oil and gas producer (ASX:OSH) jumped as much as 8.7% to AU$4.14 — their biggest intraday percentage gain since 23 February.
The Company agreed to grant Australia's second-biggest independent gas producer Santos Limited (ASX:STO) to access its books after it hikes its buyout offer.
Santos is now offering 0.6275 new Santos shares for each Oil Search share, up from previous offer of 0.589 new Santos shares, which was rejected by OSH.
Based on STO's last close on Friday, deal currently values OSH at nearly AU$4.05 - valuing OSH at AU$8.4 billion - a 6.3% premium to OSH's last close of AU$3.81.
There is a deal to create a top-20 global oil and gas company; OSH to own around 38.5% of the merged group, with Santos holding around the rest.
OSH is among top five gainers in the ASX 200 benchmark index AXJO; STO shares up more than 2%.
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2nd Aug 12:53 PM AEST
Aussie tech stocks eye best day in a decade after Square to buy Afterpay (ASX:APT)
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Australian tech stocks AXIJ rise 7.8%, their biggest one-day gain since November 2011, after Square Inc stated it will purchase buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Afterpay Limited (ASX:APT) for around $29 billion.
Under the deal, regarded as Australia's biggest-ever buyout, Afterpay shareholders will get 0.375 shares of Square's class A stock for every share they own.
BNPL peer Zip Co Limited's (ASX:Z1P) shares rose as much as 13.7% on the news, and are on track for their best day since 8 July; Zip is the second biggest gainer on the benchmark index.
Sector heavyweight Xero Limited (ASX:XRO) gained 2.4%, while WiseTech Global Limited (ASX:WTC), the second biggest gainer on the tech index, climbed 2.6%.
The tech index AXIJ is down 4.5% this year, as of the last close.
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2nd Aug 12:44 PM AEST
Cirrus Network (ASX:CNW) gains on rejecting buyout bid
Shares of Cirrus Network Holdings Limited (ASX:CNW) rose as much as 13.3% to AU$0.034, their biggest intraday percentage gain since 12 March 2021.
The IT services provider recommended its shareholders to reject takeover offer from Webcentral Group Limited (ASX:WCG).
On Friday, Webcentral announced a takeover bid for co at 3.2 cents per CNW share, implying a deal value of AU$29.7 million.
Offer value was at a 6.2% premium to CNW's last close.
The stock has hit its highest since 12 March 2021.
More than 23 million shares changed hands versus a 30-day average of 1.9 million shares.
The stock is down 6.3% this year as of last close.
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2nd Aug 12:42 PM AEST
Rumble Resources (ASX:RTR) raises resource estimate by 35% at Western Queen
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Precious and base metal explorer, Rumble Resources Limited (ASX:RTR), completed the updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) at its 100% owned Western Queen Gold Project of Western Australia. MRE is complete for 2 of its leases in the project area. It was completed independently by Cube Consulting (Perth) after completing a drill database update.
The MRE produced a 35% increase in the total resource from the previous estimate. The Combined indicated and inferred resource is 2.1Mt @ 2.42g/t Au for a total of 163,268 ounces. The total indicated resources are now 1.1Mt @ 1.95g/t Au for a total of 67,145 ounces. It represents a 145% increase over the previous estimate.
Meanwhile, Western Queen South & Western Queen Central deposits remain open at depth. These are within the WQ shear zone (WQSZ), which hosts the Western Queen Project Mineral Resources. RTR owns 35km of WQSZ that has exceptional potential for further discoveries of new mineral resources.
RTR shares traded 3.062% down on ASX at AU$0.475 at 12:00 PM AEST.
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2nd Aug 12:39 PM AEST
Crude oil prices inch higher on strong demand and tight supplies
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Crude oil prices inched higher on Monday on the back of robust demand and tight supplies. A strong vaccination program is also supporting oil prices by alleviating the impact of a resurgence in COVID-19 cases.
- October delivery Brent Crude oil futures traded 0.27% down at US$74.94 per barrel, whereas September delivery WTI crude oil futures traded 0.57% down at US$73.53 per barrel as of 2 August 2021 at 10:29 AM AEST.
- The United States, parts of Europe, and all-around Asia have recorded a rising number of coronavirus cases.
- Even with rising coronavirus, the consumption of crude oil is increasing across the globe as higher vaccination rates have limited the need for harsh lockdowns.
- The US crude production rose around 80,000bpd in May to 11.23 million bpd, according to the data released by a government report.
- Saudi Arabia is expected to raise the crude oil prices for sale in Asia in September for a second straight month.
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2nd Aug 12:11 PM AEST
Pearl Global (ASX:PG1) to raise A$6 million via placement
Industrial technology company, Pearl Global Limited (ASX:PG1), will be raising AU$6 million from major institutional investors and a Share Purchase Plan (SPP). In addition, it intends to raise AU$6 million through placement for AU$5.25 million and up to a further AU$750,000 through a non-underwritten SPP for existing shareholders.
PG1 has received commitments to raise AU$4.04 million through a placement of approximately 115.43 million fully paid ordinary shares at 3.5 cents per share.
PG1’s cornerstone shareholder, ROC Asset Management (ROC), will subscribe for a further AU$1.18 million, approx. 33.70 million fully paid ordinary shares. A number of the Directors also intend to participate in the placement, subject to shareholder approval.
PG1 will issue shares in two tranches, Tranche 1 - 92,857,184 shares, to sophisticated and professional investors to raise AU$3.25 million. Tranche 2 - a total of 57,142,866 shares to raise AU$2 million.
Settlement of Tranche 1 is to occur by Monday, 9 August 2021. The General Meeting for approval of Tranche 2 is scheduled for around 27 September 2021. The record date for the SPP is 30 July 2021.
PG1 will use funds for the expansion of production capabilities and working capital at its Stapylton facility.
PG1 shares traded 4.256% down at AU$0.045 per share at 12:00 PM AEST.
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2nd Aug 12:01 PM AEST
ASX hits new high as M&A deals boost confidence; Afterpay zooms 24%
Australian shares rose today as a flurry of big mergers and acquisitions deals boosted sentiment and helped the market reverse Friday’s losses. In Australia's biggest-ever buyout deal, US-based fintech Square Inc. has announced to acquire Australia’s largest buy now, pay later (BNPL) player Afterpay for AU$39 billion. In energy space, oil Search has agreed to a AU$21 billion-plus merger deal with Santos. In mining sector, Mineral Resources has announced to buy a 40% interest in the Red Hill iron ore joint venture from Red Hill Iron for AU$400 million.
The benchmark index, ASX 200, was up 91.30 points or 1.24% at 7,483.90 by the lunch. The index opened higher today and gained as much as 1.3% to hit a fresh record high of 7,498.70.
The market rally was driven by record buying across technology space, led by BNPL stocks after Afterpay announced merger deal with US-based fintech Square Inc.
On the sectoral front, ten of the eleven sectors were trading in green zone. Information technology topped the chart by surging over 8%, followed by energy which gained 1.4%.
Among others, health care, utilities, consumer staples and consumer discretionary rose over 1%.
Bucking the trend, material was the worst performer, falling nearly 0.5%, owing to fall in iron ore prices.
BNPL major Afterpay (ASX: APT) emerged as top gainers on the ASX, rising 24.5% to AU$120.55 by lunch. Afterpay was followed by rival firm Zip Co Ltd (ASX:Z1P) which rose 10% to AU$7.32.
The BNPL stocks witnessed surge in buying today after Afterpay announced merger deal with US-based fintech Square Inc. Following the announcement, shares of other BNPL players such as Sezzle Inc. (ASX:SZL) climbed 4% to AU$7.50. The share price of Splitit Payments (ASX: SPT) rose 8.5% to 50 cents. Among others, Humm Group limited (ASX:HUM) and Openpay Group Ltd (ASX:OPY) rose over 3% each.
Some of the other notable gainers were metals and mining firm Pilbara Minerals Limited (ASX:PLS), gold miner Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX:RMS) and energy firm Oil Search Ltd (ASX:OSH).
On the losing side, iron ore producer Champion Iron Limited (ASX:CIA) topper the chart, falling 4.3% to AU$7.27. Some of the other top laggards were tech firm ALS Limited (ASX: ALQ), health technology firm Pro Medicus (ASX:PME), royalty company Deterra (ASX:DRR) and iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG).
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2nd Aug 11:17 AM AEST
Red Hill Iron (ASX:RHI) to sell 40% interest in an Iron Ore JV, shares skyrocket 270% on ASX
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Red Hill Iron Limited (ASX:RHI) shared today that it has entered into a binding agreement to sell it’s 40% interest in the Red Hill Iron Ore Joint Venture (RHIOJV) to a 100%-owned unit of Mineral Resources Limited (ASX:MIN).
Key highlights:
- The cash purchase price is AU$400,000,000 to be paid in two instalments.
- Also, Mineral Resources will be paying a royalty of 0.75% of FOB revenue on all iron ore that is extracted and sold from the RHIOJV tenements to RHI.
The RHIOJV tenements contain a Mineral Resources of 820Mt grading 56.44% iron ore.
The stock RHI was spotted trading 263.636% higher at AU$4.00 per share at 11:00 AM on the ASX.
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2nd Aug 10:57 AM AEST
Centaurus Metals’ (ASX:CTM) Jaguar Ni project leads in carbon footprint
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Centaurus Metals Ltd (ASX:CTM) is an Australian mineral explorer having significant assets in Brazil. It announced today that its 100%-owned Jaguar Nickel Sulphide Project in Brazil has the potential to be amongst the world's foremost Nickel (Ni) projects in terms of carbon footprint. As a result, it can attract investment from leading ESG-focused investors.
CTM commissioned a study by specialist metals and mining-ESG research company Skarn Associates at its Jaguar project. The Estimated E1-Green House Gas (GHG) emissions for the Jaguar Nickel Sulphide Project are forecast to be class-leading. Assessment results are compelling and demonstrate Jaguar to be a class leader in terms of carbon footprint. In addition, it shows unique attributes, being powered mainly by renewable energy from the local grid. Also, its product is directly useable in the production of lithium-ion batteries.
The Life-of-mine CO2 footprint assessed is to be lower than 97% of global nickel production once in production. The GHG E1 emission levels are 85% lower than the nickel industry average.
The ESG assessment reaffirms Jaguar's credentials as one of the world's best-undeveloped nickel sulphide projects. Its forecast production is 20,000 tonnes per annum with low capital intensity and attractive project economics.
CTM shares traded 1.081% up at AU$0.935 per share at 10:50 AM AEST.
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2nd Aug 10:57 AM AEST
Renault Group partners with Vulcan Energy (ASX:VUL) in the Zero Carbon Lithium Project
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Renault Group and lithium producer Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX:VUL) have announced a five-year strategic partnership within the Zero Carbon Lithium™ Project, securing between 6,000 and 17,000 metric tonnes per year of battery grade lithium chemicals.
As per the announcement, this agreement is in line with Renault Group’s strategy to offer competitive, sustainable and ‘made in Europe’ electric vehicles.
This partnership with Vulcan Energy will allow Renault to avoid from 300 to 700 kg of CO2 for a 50-kWh battery.
VUL stock traded 2.346% higher at AU$10.030 per share on the ASX at 10:40 AM AEST.
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2nd Aug 10:39 AM AEST
ASX 200 kickstarts August on a higher note
On the first session of August 2021, the Australian share market has opened higher, giving investors some relief from Friday’s sell-off. At the opening tick, the ASX 200 is trading 0.32% up, at 7415.9. Investors remain confident ahead of the corporate earnings season, overshadowing some gloom surrounding surging COVID-19 cases in Australia.
On Friday, US stocks closed lower, retracing further from record highs as an underwhelming earnings report from Amazon spoiled investors' mood. The ecommerce giant’s shares sank 7.6% - their biggest daily percentage drop in more than a year.
The market breadth for the day is looking quite positive as nine out of the 11 sectors are trading in green, with IT sector gaining a massive 7.33% intraday gain, supported primarily by Afterpay. Materials sector is losing the most with a 0.46% loss.
Afterpay Limited (ASX:APT) reported a 102% increase in the underlying sales on a constant current basis in FY21, primarily driven by a massive 242% increase in the sales of Clearpay. Total revenue for the group rose 88% to AU$925 million for FY21. -
2nd Aug 10:38 AM AEST
Cedar Woods (ASX:CWP) acquires sites in Melbourne’s west
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Property investor and developer Cedar Woods Properties Limited (ASX:CWP) has picked up two sites in Melbourne’s western growth corridor via two separate off-market transactions.
These transactions include a 14.6-hectare site in Fraser Rise and a 39.7-hectare site in Fieldstone.
The Fraser Rise site is worth AU$30.5 million. It has all planning permits for a 225 lot sub-division and potential upside in yield. Its development will benefit from a recreational park and a proposed non-government school. Settlement is due in October 2021 and is to contribute to CWP earnings from FY23.
The Fieldstone site is worth AU$33 million. The agreement involves deferred terms subject to CWP receiving approval to subdivide the site from its parent title, anticipated in FY23. The development is to yield over 500 lots in the future.
Overall, the acquisitions will add 725 lots to Cedar Woods' development pipeline. It has potential for uplift to this lot yield and is to contribute to CWP’s earnings for over 8 years, i.e., FY23-30.
As per the release, CWP is well-positioned to add new products for Australia’s appetite for new housing.
CWP share traded last at AU$6.640 per share on the ASX.
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2nd Aug 10:37 AM AEST
Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) sells Li Royalty at Kathleen Valley
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Gold explorer and producer Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX:RMS) has signed a binding agreement with Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX:LTR) to terminate royalty over the majority of LTR’s Kathleen Valley Lithium Project.
LTR is a minerals explorer having a primary focus on Lithium and gold. Its Kathleen Valley Lithium Project is one of the world’s premier undeveloped Lithium deposits.
The binding agreement is with a subsidiary of LTR to terminate the Li royalty deed that RMS owns over a large proportion of the Kathleen Valley Project.
A transaction consideration of AU$30.25 million is payable to RMS in cash upon settlement. Settlement is to happen in 3 business days.
Such divestment by RMS provides it additional liquidity to grow its gold asset portfolio in WA. The proforma cash and gold balance as of 30 June 2021 with RMS is AU$264 million.
RMS shares traded on ASX at AU$1.71 and LTR shares at AU$0.925, as on 10:15 AM AEST.
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2nd Aug 10:16 AM AEST
Nexion (ASX:NNG) takes the helm of Aryaka in Australia and New Zealand
NEXION Group Ltd (ASX:NNG), an emerging provider of full end-to-end enterprise ICT solutions shared today that is will now facilitate the Aryaka business in Australia and New Zealand in a new first of its kind multi-country partnership.
Key Highlights:
- Nexion Networks will now market and sell the Aryaka Cloud first Global SDWAN solutions and network services in Australia and New Zealand as a go-to-market lead partner. It will add more channels and enterprise customers under the joint agreement as well as SASE deployments for the company.
- Nexion and Aryaka entered into a fusion agreement for the first Aryaka Services PoP in Australia and New Zealand and resell agreement for Aryaka services in 2018.
- Nexion has deployed Australia’s first ever Fusion PoP, owning the infrastructure and adding it to Aryaka’s global managed platform.
- Nexion will further invest in building and operating an Aryaka Services PoP in Auckland.
- Nexion is the only fusion partner for this territory.
- Nexion and Aryaka together deliver a cloud-first approach to Global SD-WAN, SASE, and the Hybrid Cloud, giving customers a new access option to NEXION OneCloud, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud and Alibaba Cloud via Aryaka’s global Services PoP footprint.
The stock NNG traded last at AU$0.200 per share on the ASX.
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2nd Aug 10:15 AM AEST
Santos (ASX:STO) says yes to the proposed merger ratio with Oil Search (ASX:OSH)
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Santos Limited (ASX:STO) and Oil Search Limited (ASX:OSH) shared today that they have agreed on the merger ratio.
Under this Revised Merger Proposal, Oil Search shareholders will receive 0.6275 new Santos shares for each Oil Search share held. After the merger, Oil Search shareholders will own around 38.5% of the merged group and Santos shareholders will own around 61.5%.
The Revised Merger Proposal features a transaction price of AU$4.29 per Oil Search share, based on the closing price of Santos and Oil Search shares on 19 July 2021. This shows a 16.8% premium to the Oil Search closing price on 19 July.
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It can be stated that this merger is likely to create a regional champion of size and scale as it will produce a varied portfolio of high quality, long-life, low-cost assets across Australia, TimorLeste, Papua New Guinea and North America.
Also, a Pro-forma market capitalisation of AU$21 billion would be build which is likely to position the merged entity in the top-20 ASX-listed companies and the 20 largest global oil and gas companies.
The stocks STO and OSH traded last at AU$6.450 per share and AU$3.810 per share respectively.
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2nd Aug 09:59 AM AEST
Square, Inc. announces plans to acquire Afterpay (ASX:APT)
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Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) and Afterpay Limited (ASX: APT) today announced that Square has agreed to acquire all of the issued shares in Afterpay.
The acquisition features an inferred worth of around US$29 billion or AU$39 billion. This is moreover based on the closing price of Square stock on July 30, 2021. All of this amount is likely to be funded in terms of stock.
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As per the announcement, the acquisition’s purpose is to let the companies take fascinating financial products and services ahead that give access to more consumers and drive the incremental revenue for merchants of all sizes.
The closing of the transaction is likely in the first quarter of calendar year 2022, the announcement said.
What will Afterpay do?
The Company announcement stated that APT, the pioneering global 'buy now, pay later' platform, will accelerate Square’s strategic priorities for its Seller and Cash App ecosystems. Square has put forward that it aspires to fit in Afterpay into its present Seller and Cash App business units and empower even the smallest of merchants to offer BNPL at checkout. Post the acquisition, APT consumers will have the power to handle their installment payments directly in Cash App.
It should be underlined that Afterpay is an industry leader and as of June 30, 2021, Afterpay registered more than 16 million consumers and nearly 100,000 merchants globally.
The stock APT traded last at AU$96.660 per share on the ASX.
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2nd Aug 09:42 AM AEST
ASX 200 to rise ahead of RBA meet
The ASX 200 is expected to open on a positive note on Monday despite Wall Street closing lower in the previous session. The benchmark index may open the day 37 points or 0.5% higher, according to the latest ASX futures. On Friday, the index fell 0.3% to 7,392.6 points.
The domestic investors would closely track the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) monetary policy meeting and company earnings scheduled this week. Australia's central bank may withdraw its decision to taper bond buying if Sydney remains in a coronavirus lockdown, according to economists.
The central bank had earlier said in June that it will reduce its debt purchases from September due to better-than-expected economic outcomes.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones declined 149.06 points or 0.4% to 34,935.47, the NASDAQ fell 105.59 points or 0.7% to 14,672.68 and the S&P 500 dipped 23.89 points or 0.5% to 4,395.26. The US stock markets declined sharply due to a weak outlook by Amazon, which knocked its stock 7.6% lower.