Clive Palmer’s Titanic plans stalled; The Athlete’s Foot owner RCG Corporation announces $200 acquisition: Midday Roundup

Clive Palmer’s plans to build a second Titanic have stalled, with the project two years behind schedule.

Work has not even started on the $500 million project that the mining magnate turned politician previously said would be complete by late 2016, according to News Corp.

Palmer originally unveiled preliminary drawings of the luxury cruise liner to journalists in 2012, which showed nine decks and even an onboard casino.

But workers at the CSC Junling shipyard in China, the company where the Titanic replica is meant to be built, told The Australian they doubted construction would ever begin.

“The Australians have used this for propaganda, it will not happen,” one worker said.

RCG Corporation confirms $200 million takeover of Accent Group

RCG Corporation, the operator of retailers such as The Athlete’s Foot, has confirmed a $200 million takeover deal of Accent Group Limited – the company behind Platypus shoes and the Australian distributor of major shoe brands Vans, Skechers and Dr Martens.

The deal will see sophisticated and professional investors and AGL shareholders receive 70 cents a share. For the 12 months to December 2014, AGL generated more than $62 million from external wholesale sales.

RCG chief executive Hilton Brett said in a statement the acquisition of AGL will help the company scale and “face the challenges ahead”.

“RCG’s stated strategy is to identify and acquire brands and or businesses which are synergistic with its existing business,” Brett said.

“In particular, the company’s strategy is to acquire distribution and retail businesses in the footwear and active lifestyle space. There are few, if any, businesses that meet this brief better than AGL. The strategic benefits and opportunities that this acquisition are likely to bring are extremely exciting.”

Shares down on open

Aussie shares are trading lower this morning, off the back of volatile commodity markets and reluctant investors.

Tristan K’Nell, head of trading at Quay Equities, said in a statement the Australian share market has “run out of steam” this week.

“Market turnover [is] reflecting the quieter morning with turnover much lower at $1.302 billion,” he said.

“Expect the flat trade to continue into the afternoon with no economic releases expected out of the Asian Pacific Region. RBA Governor Glenn Stevens does speak in Melbourne but expect a conservative approach particularly in the face of the information out of the Fed this week and the fresh expectations of RBA cuts sooner rather than later.”

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark was down 6.1 points to 5944.7 points at 11.40am AEDT. On Thursday, the Dow Jones closed 117.16 points lower, down 0.65% to 17,959.03 points.