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BlueScope dismisses Stokes' $13.2bn offer as 'drastically undervalued'
Kerry Stokes and his US partners will have to come up with more cash after BlueScope Steel rejected his $13.2bn takeover bid as too low and an attempt to buy the company “on the cheap”, Australian Associated Press reports.
US-based industrial metals group Steel Dynamics had teamed with the Stokes-controlled SGH Limited in a bid to acquire the company’s North American operations.
They had offered $30 a share – a 27% premium to the trading price of BlueScope shares when the offer was made on 12 December. Steel Dynamics had made three unsuccessful previous approaches to take control of BlueScope.
Shares in the Port Kembla Steelworks operator soared yesterday by 20.6% to a 17-year high of $29.48 after the takeover offer was first made public on Monday night.
BlueScope’s chair, Jane McAloon, said in a statement to the ASX late yesterday that the board had unanimously rejected the offer.
Let me be clear – this proposal was an attempt to take BlueScope from its shareholders on the cheap. It drastically undervalued our world-class assets, our growth momentum, and our future – and the board will not let that happen.
This is the fourth time we’ve said no, and the answer remained the same – BlueScope is worth considerably more than what was on the table.
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Heatwave continues for much of the country
Caitlin Cassidy
Large parts of the country are set to swelter through another hot day on Thursday, with conditions remaining in the high 20s and 30s for every capital city except Hobart.
Melbourne reached in 41C late Wednesday afternoon and was expected to drop to 20C overnight before rapidly climbing to 30C on Thursday morning until a cool change later in the evening.
Adelaide is expected to endure another scorching day, reaching a top of 39C in the afternoon and not dropping below 23C overnight.
Sydney is forecast to climb to a maximum of 33C mid-afternoon, with temperatures also not expected to reach below 20C overnight and remain hot until a 42C day on the weekend.
The entirety of Victoria will likely see extreme fire behaviour conditions on Friday amid the ongoing heatwave, officials said, warning that any fires that do break out will likely be uncontrollable amid hot, dry, windy conditions.
Read our full story on how the heatwave cranked up yesterday:
Good morning
Nick Visser
Nick Visser here to take things over. Let’s dive in.
Pro-Palestine groups plan Melbourne rally against Herzog visit
Pro-Palestine groups planning a rally in Melbourne on Sunday to protest the state visit by Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, are holding a press conference at 10am this morning at the State Library of Victoria.
Among the groups involved in planning the rally are Students for Palestine Australia, who are urging supporters to distribute flyers promoting the midday rally at the State Library.
They claim Herzog is complicit in the Israeli military bombardment of Gaza launched after the Hamas attack on Israel more than two years ago.
A group of rank-and-file Labor party members has urged the Albanese government to rescind its invitation for the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, to visit Australia, voicing outrage over his country’s military bombardment of Gaza. Herzog planned the visit to show support for victims of the Bondi terror attack.
Read our full story about the controversy around Herzog’s visit here:
Police warn elderly shoppers of thefts and fraud in shopping centre carparks
NSW police are investigating a spate of reports of elderly drivers being allegedly stolen from and scammed at shopping centre carparks across the state.
They have been told of 18 recent incidents, from Newcastle to Wagga Wagga and including several suburbs across Sydney, police said in a statement on Thursday.
On Wednesday two men, aged 37 and 57, were arrested at a service station in Glenthorne and charged with 72 offences each, relating to alleged fraud, theft, and enter vehicle without consent. Both men were refused bail to appear before court today.
Police allege that one of the men approached elderly female victims claiming that there was an issue with their vehicle before asking them to raise the bonnet to inspect.
While the bonnet was up, another man allegedly stole items such as wallets, purses, cash and cards from inside the vehicle.
Police have also released vision of two other men they wish to speak with in relation to the investigation.
BlueScope dismisses Stokes' $13.2bn offer as 'drastically undervalued'
Kerry Stokes and his US partners will have to come up with more cash after BlueScope Steel rejected his $13.2bn takeover bid as too low and an attempt to buy the company “on the cheap”, Australian Associated Press reports.
US-based industrial metals group Steel Dynamics had teamed with the Stokes-controlled SGH Limited in a bid to acquire the company’s North American operations.
They had offered $30 a share – a 27% premium to the trading price of BlueScope shares when the offer was made on 12 December. Steel Dynamics had made three unsuccessful previous approaches to take control of BlueScope.
Shares in the Port Kembla Steelworks operator soared yesterday by 20.6% to a 17-year high of $29.48 after the takeover offer was first made public on Monday night.
BlueScope’s chair, Jane McAloon, said in a statement to the ASX late yesterday that the board had unanimously rejected the offer.
Let me be clear – this proposal was an attempt to take BlueScope from its shareholders on the cheap. It drastically undervalued our world-class assets, our growth momentum, and our future – and the board will not let that happen.
This is the fourth time we’ve said no, and the answer remained the same – BlueScope is worth considerably more than what was on the table.
Welcome
Martin Farrer
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Nick Visser is due to bring you the main action.
Pro-Palestine groups planning a rally in Melbourne on Sunday to protest the state visit by Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, are holding a press conference this morning at the State Library of Victoria. It comes after a Labor party group urged the Albanese government to rescind its formal invitation to Herzog. We have more coming up.
Kerry Stokes and his US partners will have to come up with more cash after BlueScope Steel rejected his $13.2bn takeover bid as too low and an attempt to buy the company “on the cheap”. More details coming up.
And police have issued a warning about elderly drivers allegedly being stolen from and scammed in NSW shopping centre carparks.
