TROUBLED listed companies be warned: they can banish their name, but when it comes to erasing the baggage of the past the cathartic process is much more involved.
This month, the underperforming OneSteel, which was spun off from BHP Billiton along with BlueScope Steel 12 years ago, changed its name to Arrium to divorce itself from steel-making in favour of iron ore mining and mining consumables.
“The name OneSteel has in fact been an impediment in recent years in the marketing of the company,” Arrium chief Geoff Plummer said.
Tasmanian woodchipper Gunns, whose name might as well be Trouble, has confirmed it’s mulling not just a name change, but moving its head office to the mainland.
According to branding gurus, the moniker switcheroos — which cost several million dollars to implement — can bemuse customers without addressing the root causes of the corporate malaise.
“It has to be thought through very carefully,” says Brand Finance managing director Tim Heberden. “If it is a quick name change and nothing more, it’s the same company and management is unlikely to achieve what it thought it would.”
Tom Brigstocke, managing director of brand strategy firm Principals, describes many efforts as a “corporate combover” that fail to disguise strategy baldness.
“Clearly changing a name alone is never going to be enough,” he says.
“It needs to be a signal of change, not change in its own right.”
Outspoken broker Charlie Aitken is even more direct: “It’s a complete waste of time and money — lipstick on a pig,” says the Bell Potter principal. “They are the same company with the same fundamentals.
Read the rest here: Name change a risky gambit unless malaise addressed
• ABC Online: Gunns continues holding pattern
Tasmanian timber company Gunns has extended its five-week trading halt as it negotiates a $400 million capital raising.
Gunns has told the stock exchange that it will provide another update on the plan next Monday.
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A financial analyst believes the company is close to finalising the details.
Shadforth Financial Group’s Matthew Torenius says Gunns has told investors and analysts in recent meetings that the deal will be announced soon.
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The company says it will use the funds to pay off $340 million worth of debts and to attract an investor for the proposed Bell Bay pulp mill.
The first stage of earthworks at the Bell Bay site has been completed.
Mr Torenius says the capital-raising plan could leave Gunns with enough cash to start construction.
“It really does just also depend on the major shareholders they get on board.”
“If the major shareholders are going to continue to support them with perhaps further money down the track, then the company may well continue to develop the project without a joint venture partner,” he said.
Gunns also responded to speculation that it is planning to change its business name and move its headquarters interstate, saying no decisions have been made.
Court case
The former chairman of the Tasmanian timber company, Gunns, has had his Supreme Court case adjourned until next month.
In February this year, John Gay pleaded not guilty to insider trading.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission alleges Mr Gay illegally disposed of 3.4 million Gunns shares in 2009, two months before their value dropped by about 20 cents.
Mr Gay did not appear in the Supreme Court in Launceston this morning.
His case was adjourned until May 14.
UNFOUNDED SABOTAGE CLAIMS UNDERMINE LEGAL PROCESS
MPs Must Commit: No More Trial-by-Media
Paul O’Halloran MP
Greens Police Spokesperson
The Tasmanian Greens today called on all Members of Parliament to commit to adhering to the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ in light of recent confirmation by Tasmania Police that no evidence had been found to support allegations of tree spiking.
Greens Police spokesperson Paul O’Halloran MP said that pre-empting police investigations by making unfounded allegations was an attack on the basic principles of natural justice that underpin our legal system.
“It’s never acceptable for public figures and politicians to scapegoat individuals or sectors of the community with unfounded or defamatory allegations,” Mr O’Halloran said.
“Our legal system is based on the principle of innocent until proven guilty, not trial by media.”
“The recent public scapegoating of environmentalists by various politicians only served to inflame community divisions and could have placed citizens in danger.”
“There has never been any proof that Tasmanian environmentalists have been involved in tree spiking, and these claims need to be treated with extreme suspicion whenever they are made,” Mr O’Halloran said.
Download: Copy of letter from Assistant Commissioner of Tasmania Police to Senator Christine Milne, dated 22 March 2012:
ATTACH_Tas_Police_Letter_to_Senator_Milne_Apr_17.pdf
• MAYDENA LET DOWN BY FORESTRY TASMANIA INEPTITUDE
Adventure Hub Closure a Blow to Tourism Businesses
Tim Morris MP
Greens Tourism Spokesperson
The Tasmanian Greens said that the community of Maydena had been badly let down by Forestry Tasmania’s mismanagement of its failed Adventure Hub.
Greens Tourism spokesperson Tim Morris MP said that the operation had failed to make any profits since it was launched by the former Premier Paul Lennon amid great fanfare and enormous cost to the public purse.
“The failure of Forestry Tasmania’s venture at Maydena is deeply unfortunate for the community, but sadly predictable given their failure to listen to the community and local tourism operators in the first place,” Mr Morris said.
“It was based on a flawed business model that was always more about propaganda than it ever was about supporting the local industry or catering to the interests of tourists.”
“This just highlights the absurdity of placing a logging agency in charge of an eco-tourism venture, neither of which Forestry Tasmania can make a profit from.”
“The failure of the Maydena Adventure Hub is symptomatic of the fact that the Forestry Tasmania business model, not only in forestry, but also in tourism, just doesn’t stand up to commercial reality.”
“All this comes as Forestry Tasmania continues to mock taxpayers by spending massive amounts of their money on television advertising.”
“These assets now need to be taken away completely from Forestry Tasmania, and put in the hands of people who know what they are doing,” Mr Morris said.
