The family behind troubled clothing retailer Noni B has accepted a takeover offer from investment and advisory firm Alceon Group, reports Fairfax.
The Kindl family’s agreement to sell their 42% stake to Alceon Group, comes after Noni B shares were placed in a trading halt on Monday. Last week, Noni B posted a $7.8 million loss for the 2013-14 financial year.
According to Fairfax, the Kindl family have agreed to sell their shares for 51 cents a piece and are recommending other shareholders follow suit.
The bid from Alceon values the clothing retailer at $16.4 million, substantially less than the company’s value in 2000 when the Kindl’s floated the company at $1 a share.
Noni B will be the first direct retail investment for Alceon Group, which has interest in shopping malls and residential developments.
Australia Post profit drops 34.5%
Continued declines in mail volumes continue to plague Australia Post, with the national postal service’s profits dropping 34.5% during the 2013-14 financial year.
Australia Post recorded a full-year profit after tax of $116.2 million for the last financial year, attributing the fall to continued declines in mail volumes.
However, Australia Post said earnings before interest and tax rose by 20.8% in the year to $337.5 million.
Managing director and chief executive Ahmed Fahour said in a statement that gains in parcel delivery were not enough to stem the losses.
“For the first time since corporatisation, we have posted an overall company loss in the second half of the financial year,” said Fahour.
“Despite three months of benefit from the 10% increase in the basic postage rate, the profits from our parcels business were overwhelmed by losses in our mail business, resulting in an overall loss of $105.9 million and a trading loss of $42.9 million before restructuring costs, in this six month period.”
Shares down on open
Aussie shares have opened lower this morning, with local investors cautious in the wake of another drop in the price of iron ore.
The S&P/ASX200 benchmark was down 18.2 points to 5637.9 points at 12.08pm AEST. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones closed 10.72 points higher, up 0.06% to 17078.3 points.
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Eloise is an experienced business journalist and editor, who has held senior editorial roles at SmartCompany since 2014. Prior to joining SmartCompany, Eloise was news editor at Books+Publishing, the trade press for the Australian book industry. Eloise has degrees in media and communications, marketing and business management, and political science. You can follow her on LinkedIn, and Twitter at @ellykeating.
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