Nine eyes IPO in 2013: Midday roundup

The owners of Nine Entertainment could be considering a float of the company before the end of the year, a new report from The Australian Financial Review has claimed.

The float would value the company at $3 billion, the report states, while six separate investment groups have reportedly approached the business about the possibility of an initial public offering.

If such a move were to occur, it would be the first time Nine would be publicly listed since it was taken off the market more than five years ago.

The business was suffering major debt issues last year before two hedge funds from the United States helped finance the company. The move means the company is now debt free.

NBN head says project on time

Mike Quigley, the chief executive of NBN Co., has told a Parliamentary committee the project is on budget and on schedule.

Quigley said he was confident the project would remain that way.

“I’m happy with the progress NBN Co. has made…it’s in my view almost exactly in line financially with what we predicted,” Quigley said.

He also said take-up by customers was continuing to grow, according to the AAP.

BoM to run advertisements

The Bureau of Meteorology will be the first government agency to have advertisements on its website, following a one year trial announced in the federal budget last year.

Digital Network Sales, which represents sites such as seek.com.au and Career FAQs, has been awarded the contract to manage the BoM’s online advertisements.

The BoM website has 3.3 million page views each year and approximately 25,000 unique viewers at any given time on the site.

New Fair Work Ombudsman

Following the resignation of Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson, Michael Campbell has been appointed as the acting ombudsman, while a new ombudsman is being selected.

Campbell is currently the FWO’s operations group manager and had previously worked as the chief of field operations with Fair Work Building and Construction.

Shares

The Australian share market has opened flat this morning after a weak lead from offshore markets.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 15.7 points or 0.3%, while in the United States the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 81 points or 0.6% to 14,537.1.