The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose by around 0.6% to 6,881 points.
Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:
Vocus Group Ltd (ASX: VOC)
The Vocus share price went up by more than 13% today after receiving a takeover offer.
Vocus confirmed that it has received a non-binding, indicative proposal from Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and its managed funds to acquire the entire Vocus business for a share price of $5.50 per share.
The board noted that the offer is subject to a number of conditions including satisfactory completion of due diligence by MIRA, MIRA securing debt financing and the unanimous recommendation by the Vocus board.
After consideration by the board and its advisers, the board has concluded that it is in the best interests of Vocus shareholders to explore the potential for a transaction with MIRA, and has granted MIRA due diligence access to enable MIRA to potentially put forward a binding proposal.
The board noted that there is no certainty that the proposal will result in a binding offer for Vocus.
Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)
The Treasury Wine Estates share price went up 0.8% today in reaction to speculation.
The ASX 200 share said that it noted that article published by The Australian on 7 February 2021, which reported that TWE is investigating a demerger of its global operations into three separate businesses.
TWE reminded investors that it has formally paused work on a potential demerger of its Penfolds brand, and further that it is not currently considering a demerger of any brands or businesses within its portfolio.
The company is assessing internal operating models to deliver long term value through a separate focus across its brand portfolios. These assessments remain ongoing and TWE has no further announcements to make about this right now.
Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)
The Afterpay share price reached a new record today, it went up to almost $156. However, it finished the day higher by 2% to just over $154.
Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW)
The real estate investment trust (REIT) just reported its FY21 half-year result. At 31 December 2020, it had 459 assets with a valuation of $4.48 billion, this was up from $3.6 billion at 30 June 2020. Its weighted average lease expiry (WALE) grew by 0.1 year to 14.1 years. Its occupancy rate was 97.5%.
Some of its most recent acquisitions include the David Jones property in the Sydney CBD and 70 BPs in New Zealand. These were part of the overall spend on $697 million of new properties, funded by $388 million of new equity.
The business said that its distribution for the half year increased by 3.6% to 14.5 cents per unit. The net tangible assets (NTA) of Charter Hall Long WALE REIT increased by 5.1% to $4.70 per unit. It benefited from a $150 million net property valuation uplift.
Charter Hall Long WALE REIT said that its operating earnings per share (EPS) for FY21 is still expected to be no less than 29.1 cents per unit, which would be growth of at least 2.8%.
The Charter Hall Long WALE REIT share price was flat in reaction to the result.
