Yahoo! rumours no help to Seek

Seek boss Paul Bassat managed to get through the Macquarie Securities (Australia) Limited 20th anniversary conference without issuing a profit warning unlike several fellow chief executives.



But Bassat is chasing ambitious earnings forecasts at the newly floated online recruitment company. The prospectus says Seek reckons it can generate 2005 and 2006 revenue growth of 68 per cent and 35 per cent respectively.

The Packer-backed group made a stellar debut in a shaky market last month - closing at $2.30 compared to its $2.10 issue price - but the stock was down 6c to $2.26 yesterday.

While investors ponder the companyís prospects amid growing doubts about economic growth and job creation, there is another potentially negative factor to bear in mind.

Yahoo! holds about 5 per cent of Seek and is not now considered a long-term holder given it has come to an arrangement with Seekís competitor, The Sydney Morning Herald publisher John Fairfax Holdings.

Tower constructions
General Property Trustís core management team have picked empty floors in its part-owned MLC Centre as the new bunker, should its internalisation and joint venture deal with Babcock &Brown get over the line.

Although nothing has been signed, itís understood Nic Lyons and his team plan to occupy the space in the skyscraper left vacant last month by Merrill Lynch. Which is an ironic move considering Merrillís corporate team is advising Lend Lease and as a result no love is lost between broker and former landlord.

It remains unclear where the asset managers of the trust will be housed and, of course, whether Babcock&Brownís team plan to leave Chifley Tower.

But while GPT grapples with the exhaustive, and in parts scathing, Grant Samuel independent expertís report on the deal, and the pending move out of its current home, The Bond, down the road at 1 Kent Street, Multiplex directors are casting their eye at another UK project.

Despite the securityís price falling to a new low of $3.45, well below the effective $4.05 issue price, and investors still smarting about the Wembley Stadium debacle, the UK team reckons itís full steam ahead. Its new managing director in Britain, Martin Tidd was quoted in Construction News as saying Multiplex will bid for work under the British Governmentís Building Schools for the Future program, worth about 2.2 billion ($5.3 billion) for the first phase: In five years, I would say we would be the market leader by some margin in tall tower construction.

Suncorp loses shine
All the banks were down yesterday but it was interesting to note that Suncorp suffered a bigger fall than most. The bank/general insurer was off by more than 3 per cent yesterday, dropping 66c to $19.44. Perhaps it was because the previous day St George boss Gail Kelly decided to air her doubts about the bancassurance model, taking steam out of recent rumours that the two regional players would tie the knot.

Elsewhere in financial services, Henderson Group - formerly HHG and prior to that, the UK operations of AMP - has left the door open for a share buyback. Fresh from hiving off its life insurance businesses, fund manager Henderson said in a notice of meeting yesterday that it was seeking approval to buy back just under 10 per cent of its shares if it so desired.

Hendersonís directors said they had no present intention of undertaking a share buyback but would keep the matter under review. No doubt they will have more capital sloshing around without the life businesses.

Speaking of buybacks, there was good news for AMP shareholders yesterday with the Australian Tax Office ruling that the pending 40c a share capital return will be treated as a reduction in the cost base of AMPís shares rather than a taxable dividend.

Tattís heads for the line
The Victorian Government may have doubled its levy on poker machines, and the sharemarket may have gone into a funk, but neither issue appears to have stopped the impending float of Tattersallís. Company sources confirmed that a public listing is on track for the first half of July.

The transformation of the trust to a corporate structure is expected to be done by the end of this month and a prospectus released early next month.

But Tattersallís beneficiaries, of course, have an earlier option to exit their stake. Rattoon Holdings - which has a 0.5 per cent stake in the lotteries operator - is offering to buy another 5 per cent of Tattersallís from other beneficiaries for $100 million cash.

But Rattoon might be asking for more.

The Newcastle-listed company will be going to shareholders next week for permission to raise up to $350 million. Rattoon chairman Hugh Henderson, said if the company wanted more of Tattersallís it would have the capacity to go substantially further than the 5 per cent stake it has asked for.

He said Rattoon would be able legally to acquire up to a 15.9 per cent stake, which would cost around $300 million based on its current offer. Rattonís initial $100 million raising is fully subscribed, most of it taken up by its major shareholders which includes, Ron Brierlyís Guiness Peat Group, Wilson Asset Management, UBS and the Pratt familyís Thorney Investments.