# Westpac and St. George in merger talks



## The Mint Man (12 May 2008)

Couldn't see another thread about this so I thought I'd post this up. Big news IMO
Malcolm Turnbull will be on 2GB in about 20 min or so to discuss this. You can listen to it live here - http://www.2gb.com.au/

Story by Anil Lambert-Patel & AAP, Livenews.com.au


> *Westpac and St George in merger talks, trading halted​*Shares in Westpac and St George are in a trading halt, with merger talks underway.
> 
> That would create the country's largest home lender.
> 
> ...




Cheers


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## The Mint Man (12 May 2008)

On 2GB right now!


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## ROE (12 May 2008)

Given Rudd government is anti-banks .. it would be tough to get through the regulator 
if this go through CBA/NAB will want to get bigger as well  

Does suncorp ring a bell  

I hold suncorp shares


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## The Mint Man (12 May 2008)

Well going off what Mr Turnbull said, it will be hard for them to get this thing through. He also mentioned that other smaller banks (like ANZ) would most likely want in on the action. Interesting times!!!

Cheers


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## overule (12 May 2008)

Here we go again.

so what will happen to WBC and SGB's share price ?
Lets do some predictions.
I held WBC this is not looking good.


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## njc.corp (12 May 2008)

overule said:


> Here we go again.
> 
> so what will happen to WBC and SGB's share price ?
> Lets do some predictions.
> I held WBC this is not looking good.




i am only going by the bloomberg report this morning-

they said something about the major 4 big banks can not merge-st george is 5th by their reasearch-

so in a way on paper it looks good for the take-over-

but as the above posters said its regulated-

it also stated that this deal would become the 2nd biggest bank due to asset's

so i can see 2 things-if the deal was to go through wbc shares would move up-but if the credit problem get's worse wbc would be exposed as it would we bigger then before-

quote me if i am wrong

Thanks

Nick--


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## son of baglimit (12 May 2008)

does anyone know when the details will be announced and trading recommence ?


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## TheRage (12 May 2008)

The four pillars policy stops the major four from merging but from what I understand there is nothing stopping the takeover of the smaller firms. 
Personally I think Gayle Kelly is one smart lady. Who is in a better position to tell whether St George would be a perfect fit for Westpac than the old St George CEO. She really impresses me the way she operates and given the current weakness in St George share price perhaps her thinking is that the merger will provide some value. Also it wouldn't be that difficult to get St George on side if you already know most of the management. 

As for share price movement, mergers are harder than take-overs to predict. Personally while there might be some short term gains on either I beleive that with Sub Prime loans in US being reset at their greatest level in August we are yet to see the end of the banks pain. 

This is not advice DYOR


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## freddy2 (12 May 2008)

TheRage said:


> Personally I think Gayle Kelly is one smart lady. Who is in a better position to tell whether St George would be a perfect fit for Westpac than the old St George CEO. She really impresses me the way she operates and given the current weakness in St George share price perhaps her thinking is that the merger will provide some value. Also it wouldn't be that difficult to get St George on side if you already know most of the management.




I would not go anywhere near a company that Gayle Kelly ran.

From an article by Michael West: http://business.theage.com.au/gail-kellys-masterstroke/20080512-2d72.html

She bulks up St George with the most belligerent bullmarket lending in the sector then blithely pops off for the top job at Westpac - the cleanest bank in the sector - at the very zenith of the banking cycle late last year.

In the biggest hospital pass in banking, her successor Paul Fegan is left with eroding margins, flat revenue growth and a wholesale mortgage-funding headache.


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## TheRage (12 May 2008)

I never said she was necessarily ethical. I said she is one smart lady. Which I still believe she is. I don't disagree about St George's debt position or that Westpac is the cleanest of the big 4. I think she is smart if she knows there is hidden value in St George at the current SP, which I admit she is responsible in part for, then she sees an opportunity. The economies of scale of merging the operations could also potentially add value. In saying all of that I don't hold either banks (Held Westpac in the past) especially given the current climate.


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## N1Spec (12 May 2008)

freddy2 said:


> I would not go anywhere near a company that Gayle Kelly ran.
> 
> From an article by Michael West: http://business.theage.com.au/gail-kellys-masterstroke/20080512-2d72.html
> 
> ...




lol , so you can judge her pedigree from one article???  If anything that aricle was a glowing statement of her ability as CEO of Westpac. Shrewd is good in the corporate world.

Cheers


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## freddy2 (12 May 2008)

N1Spec said:


> lol , so you can judge her pedigree from one article???  If anything that aricle was a glowing statement of her ability as CEO of Westpac. Shrewd is good in the coporate world.
> 
> Cheers




Shrewd is bad when it involves free-rolling (heads I win, tails you lose)shareholders which is what many are suggesting happened at St George bank in past years in its' efforts to increase profitablility. This article tends to confirm this is indeed what happened.


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## So_Cynical (12 May 2008)

ROE said:


> Given Rudd government is anti-banks .. it would be tough to get through the regulator
> if this go through CBA/NAB will want to get bigger as well
> 
> Does suncorp ring a bell
> ...




My thinking exactly...


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## Julia (12 May 2008)

Gail Kelly certainly can't be criticised for lack of planning, can she!
Obviously had a really long term plan.


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## The Mint Man (13 May 2008)

Wow, SGB up 25% ATM
Personally I would be taking some profits if I held them.... especially if I had just bought them the other day/week. Take some money and run, write it off as a major fluke
Sure there is potential for further upside if someone else gets involved, however I think it's more likely that they would target smaller banks or at least look at them before getting into a bidding war with WBC.
Considering all the talk about the '4 pillars policy' and general opposition to this proposed deal, I think you would either be brave or greedy to hold too much longer.


> *Media Release*​13 May 2008
> *St.George and Westpac agree key merger terms​*• Would create Australia’s leading financial services company for customers,
> shareholders and employees
> • All Westpac and St.George brands, including BankSA, Asgard and
> ...



See todays Ann for more.

Cheers


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## justjohn (13 May 2008)

Tempting Mint Man ,to sell but why not play this one out ,there could be more upside left with other players looking on at least there's one dragon going well at present


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## tigerboi (13 May 2008)

justjohn said:


> Tempting Mint Man ,to sell but why not play this one out ,there could be more upside left with other players looking on at least there's one dragon going well at present




Looks like the best st george victory this year,i love the way ms. kelly has just deadset pulled the pants down of the other 3 banks.masterstroke..,i reckon they will get some new customers with the choice of either of their atm's to use,smith,stewart & norris have been outgunned a beauty,more like larry,curly,mo..tb


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## The Mint Man (13 May 2008)

justjohn said:


> Tempting Mint Man ,to sell but why not play this one out ,there could be more upside left with other players looking on at least there's one dragon going well at present



True, I'm ready to stand corrected but 25% in the bag now could be worth more than ??? later, If your long it doesn't really matter I suppose.


tigerboi said:


> Looks like the best st george victory this year,i love the way ms. kelly has just deadset pulled the pants down of the other 3 banks.masterstroke..,i reckon they will get some new customers with the choice of either of their atm's to use,smith,stewart & norris have been outgunned a beauty,more like larry,curly,mo..tb



I agree.

Cheers


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## Struzball (13 May 2008)

If I bought in the lows I'd sell now for sure.. It's up around 50% in 2 months from what it was in March.  That's quite good, I'm not greedy


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## mapna (13 May 2008)

I reckon this is a game to play by the smart ppl.

Today market has shown that the WBC share holders are not happy with the deal ??? may be to high??? may be too risky ??? only Ms. Kelly knows the answer..... the WBC has drop .86 cents to 25.11 at closed.

I reckon the deal still has to go thru number of steps i..e authority's approvals and shareholders voting... there are also other groups involved too ... so it is still a long way to go.

I do not hold any shares in WBC or SGB but If I did I would fill my pockets first and see what will happen later ....

Once again - this is my personal view only .... DYOR ....


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## barnz2k (13 May 2008)

wow that happened fast, news of the possible merger only came out yesterday, then next day they have a plan!
25% is great, back up towards where SGB used to be (hehe "the KG-used-to-B"  if you know the movie  )

Im still thinking long, but maybe I can set a decent stop loss now, so that if the merger doesnt go through (quite possible from many of the reasons mentioned above, namely being 'allowed' to rather than either backing out) then the price will probably fall quite sharply again no?

time to learn stop losses!


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## chrissyoscar (13 May 2008)

I had St George and Westpac shares and late last week I sold St George and topped up on Westpac.
If only I knew!!


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