Saturday, December 20, 2008

Institutional Transactions - Week Ending 19/12/2008

This week has been a relatively quiet one for institutional investors - at least among the money managers that I keep an eye on. I guess everything is winding down before Christmas. And with the the performance of the Australian stock market (and global financial markets for that matter) this year, I suspect this is a year that some of those in the industry would prefer to forget.

Some Of The More Interesting Substantial Shareholder Notices This Week.

452 Capital Pty Ltd bought some more Consolidated Media Holdings Limited shares (ASX:CMJ) to go to over 7% this week following an announcement at the end October that they held 5%. They joined Perpetual, among others, as substantial shareholders of the company. Consolidated Media Holdings is the old Publishing And Broadcasting, without the gaming assets plus a few other 'minor' tweaks.

Australian Value Investor Maple Brown Abbott Limited has sold down its stake in Metcash Limited (ASX:MTS) again after selling shares in September and October this Year. Maple Brown Abbott join 452 Capital Pty Limited and Lazard Asset Management in heading for the exits in recent months. I don't follow Metcash at all, but I noticed from the share price graph that the stock price has been rising in recent months.

Perpetual has been active in the market again this week. The have been buyers of Consolidated Media Holdings Limited, Billabong (ASX:BBG), Incitec Pivot (ASX:IPL), CVC Ltd and sellers of Skilled Group (ASX:SKE), Crown Ltd (ASX:CWN) and Norfolk Group (NFK).

In other news, Manhattan Software passed 50% ownership of MYOB Limited. This is after the MYOB board capitulated and recommended a revised, conditional offer from Manhattan at a little over $1.15 per share. The offer is conditional on acceptances reaching 90% at which point the rest of the shares can be compulsorily acquired (the details of the offer are a little hard to explain in a concise manner here, so have a look at the announcement on the Australian Stock Exchange website if you want exact details). The directors, who control nearly 30% of MYOB stock have said they will accept the higher offer. After reaching 50% this week and including the board's almost 30%, Manhattan Software must be close to 80% - just 10% away from taking MYOB private.

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