Meanwhile,frontrunnersAndrew Bragg andDave Sharma are joined in the nine-strong field by Potts Point residentCarrington Brigham,Woollahra councillorRichard Shields and rheumatologistMaxine Szramka.
(As a second aside,King has a pug calledFifi,named after his wife).
KordaMentha on deck for ABC review
It’s even warmer and fuzzier than usual at theABC amid the news managing directorMichelle Guthrie has taken to sending staff thank you cards featuring a character named Larry.
Former Foxtel boss Peter Tonagh will have the help of KordaMentha as he conducts the ABC efficiency review with former ACMA chairman Richard Bean.Credit:Louie Douvis
So perhaps what the public broadcaster needs is dose of hardcore reality in the shape ofKordaMentha,Network Ten’s corporate undertaker.
Mark Mentha’s shop,which describes itself as a firm helping clients “recover value in tough times” has been brought on to help with the ABC efficiency review which began in July.
Earlier this year it finished on the sale of Ten to American networkCBS for about $123 million.
KordaMentha was signed mid-August,bringing them on to assist formerFoxtel bossPeter Tonagh and formerAustralian Communications and Media Authority chairmanRichard Bean.
The efficiency review is looking at how well the public broadcasters spend their funding,but not at allowing advertising on the ABC,charging for digital services,or privatisation.
Tonagh and KordaMentha have some history,with Foxtel owning a 14 per cent stake in Ten,while his former boss atNews Corp Australia,Lachlan Murdoch,had his eyes on the broadcaster.
It is unlikely Guthrie will send a Larry card Mentha’s way any time soon.
Pure honey? That's Amore
Capilano’sAllowrie brand has been in this paper of late,but there are more questions about the corporate manoeuvrings over the company's ownership than the genetic makeup of its honey.
David Williams,from Kidder Williams and a prolific agribusiness deal maker,purchased Capilano shares on behalf of Bega.Credit:Paul Jeffers
With private equity consortiumWattle Hill andRoc Partners angling to buy Capilano for $20.06 a share,there were raised eyebrows when cheese producerBega made a late entry onto the company’s shareholder register on Friday.
Those eyebrows were further raised when it turned outKidder Williams bossDavid Williams,through his companyAmore,was the share purchaser.
Some are unhappy Williams was in the market without disclosing who the real beneficiary was. It’s still unclear what Bega is after,but it’s obvious they want a seat at the table.
Meanwhile,the company’s finance managerDirk Kemp has been doing the rounds with investors in Sydney and Melbourne this week,while managing directorBen McKee is presumably attempting to get to the bottom of the adulterated honey crisis.
Corporate advisorsBDO are expected to tell investors on Friday whether the Wattle Hill bid is fair and reasonable -- or if they should wait for something better.
Even if that were the case,would something better look like Bega? Investment analysts are already complaining the company has too much debt.
This could have some way to go.
iBoss's new iMansion
Patrick Grove once boasted he was so busy he had two lunches and two dinners a day,but he’s found the time for plans to knock down and rebuild his Darling Point mansion purchased for $28 million last year.
Former iProperty boss Patrick Grove will knock down the Darling Point mansion he purchased last year for $28 million,and plans to proceed with this $2.4 million rebuild.Credit:Woollahra Council
A new two-storey house,new pool and new garden,according to $2.4 million plans lodged withWoollahra Council last month.
Grove,pals withDomain executiveJason Pellegrino andSeven Group bossRyan Stokes,sold hisiProperty business toREA Group in 2016 for $741 million.