Mark Beyer

The federal government has announced plans for a High Court appeal to confirm the powers of the Takeovers Panel, following a surprise Federal Court ruling in a case involving Alinta Ltd that cast doubt on the future of the panel.

The booming WA economy has prompted many businesses to establish or expand their in-house legal teams, creating new professional opportunities for lawyers and new challenges for law firms selling their wares.

An increased amount of litigation and regulatory action over the disclosure practices of listed companies has become one of the main risks facing company directors.

Construction company Laing O’Rourke Ltd and the Dampier Port Authority hired two of Perth’s top law firms last year when they became enmeshed in a complex dispute over the building of a new jetty; but that hasn’t helped them achieve an effective outcome.

Seven months after releasing its first prospectus, and in the face of strident criticism from the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia, Perth company Integrated Legal Holdings Ltd is pushing ahead with plans for a share market float.

The Geraldton Iron Ore Alliance has sought to win support from the state government by releasing a study that predicts mining projects in the Mid West region will provide a massive boost to economic growth and employment.

Maintaining good working relationships with external lawyers is much more important than introducing alternative billing arrangements when it comes to managing legal costs, according to legal counsel surveyed by WA Business News.

The Takeovers Panel has concluded that its operations should be able to continue effectively despite a Federal Court ruling last month that cast doubt on its future.

Three substantial commercial law firms have been established in Perth in the past year and each has adopted a fundamentally different strategy and business model.

The Legal Practice Board of Western Australia has taken the unprecedented step of publicly criticising the planned stockmarket float of Integrated Legal Holdings Ltd, which plans to acquire three Perth law firms.

Investment bank Babcock & Brown has invested an estimated $300 million in Gordon Martin's Coogee Resources Ltd, five months after Coogee scrapped plans for a $380 million public share offer and stockmarket float.

Curtin University and Woodside Petroleum Ltd have teamed up to develop a $2.5 million research facility designed to improve the extraction of oil and gas from deepwater reserves.

The LNG industry has been a significant contributor to Western Australia’s resources boom and has been on the brink of making a much larger contribution, but rising costs and skills shortages have once again pushed back the likely start date for some of t

Two of Western Australia’s biggest companies, Woodside Petroleum Ltd and Iluka Resources Ltd, have adopted major changes to their executive remuneration schemes to provide more effective incentives.

Steel fabricators in Western Australia have experienced a slowdown in work volumes during the past six months, despite the boom in resource and infrastructure projects across the state.

When the Water Corporation was established in 1996, its first chairman was a former state government minister, Peter Jones.

Kwinana-based engineering and fabrication company, Ausclad Group of Companies Ltd, has won Australia’s top national award for workplace health and safety management.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd has revised its development plans, admitting that giant gas projects proposed for the north of Western Australia will have to be developed sequentially because of shortages of skilled labour and contractors.

The booming uranium market has turned red hot in the past fortnight, with the metal’s price hitting a new record, two local companies attracting increased takeover offers and a raft of explorers raising new capital.

Scotish bankers will be clocking up the frequent flyer points after two appointments at HBOS Australia, with Ian Corfield taking up his new role as chief executive retail in Perth and BankWest’s head of retail sales, Mark Reid, transferring to Sydney.

Western Australia’s water and electricity utilities are planning further big increases in their capital works spending, to nearly $1 billion a year, as they seek to keep up with fast-growing demand.

The state government’s register of lobbyists, which took effect this week, has highlighted the prominence of a small group of firms run by former Labor politicians and ex-ministerial staffers.

The private equity binge has extended to the fast food industry with a Sydney fund backing Australian Fast Foods Pty Ltd managing director Frank Romano in a $180 million deal, buying out major shareholder Nick Tana.

Mining giant Rio Tinto is planning to significantly lift its iron ore output in Western Australia's Pilbara region beyond its current target of 220 million tonnes a year.

Listed agricultural investment company The ARK Fund Ltd has expanded its close alliance with West Perth-based managed investment scheme promoter Rewards Group by acquiring a sandalwood property in the Western Australian wheatbelt.

Westonia Mines Ltd has blamed the rising Australian dollar for its inability to finalise a $65 million-plus loan for its namesake gold project, but insisted the project still has a future.

Law firm Freehills is looking to expand its intellectual property and technology practice in Perth after recruiting Minter Ellison special counsel David Stewart and his two support staff.

The state government has delayed calling tenders for its electricity purchases after Premier Alan Carpenter announced a big increase in the state’s renewable energy targets.

Listed Western Australian companies raised a total of $936 million in new capital in the first three months of 2007 through initial public offerings and secondary capital raisings.

The mining and property booms have created unprecedented wealth in Western Australia. WA Business News looks at the individuals leading the charge.

Fortescue Metals Group Ltd boss Andrew Forrest laid the groundwork for his current wealth four years ago this month when he negotiated a deal with Allied Mining & Processing.

The Western Australian entrepreneurs who have created the most wealth in the non-mining sector are led by people who spent most of their business life running private companies before opting for a sharemarket float.