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MARGIN CALL Tough call checking on Checkmate Research Illustration: Rod Clement ELI GREENBLAT The Australian 12:00AM June 26, 2018 A B C D K 1 Would the real Checkmate Research please stand up? Or at least please call? There ain’t nothing wrong with short selling or analysts highlighting short opportunities, in fact it can be a healthy clean- up role for the market in the same way that lions and leopards clear out the old and the sick from the herd, or vultures clean up the mess later. In the equities world it was short sellers who first declared the emperors at US energy giant Enron “had no clothes” — and were proved right — and the same could be said about Glaucus Research, which hunted down shaky sandalwood company Quintis. But in both cases at least the authors of the report put their name to it, had a website and an office anyone could contact. Not so much with Checkmate Research, which put out a detailed and scathing analysis of the Thomas Beregi-run financial services company Credit Corp last week that poked dozens of holes in the operations of the business and made a number of salacious claims, which won’t be repeated here. Thanks to cyberspace that report spread like wildfire and Credit Corp, left boxing at shadows and with no contact details for Checkmate Research, could only put out an ASX release denying the facts as its shares slumped 20 per cent. That’s $200 million stripped from its market cap. ASIC says it is “looking into it’’, but looking into what? There are no contact details for Checkmate Research and for all our regulators know it could be based on a teenager’s computer in a suburb of Lagos, Nigeria or maybe a computer in the Kremlin. Or maybe Checkmate Research is, in fact, the real deal? Who can tell? It does have a Twitter handle, which coincidentally issued its first ever tweet four days ago when it shouted to the world about its new report on Credit Corp. In the process it made sure several reporters were included in the first tweet — clever sods! Way to cut down on those PR bills. Rick Wilson, a social psychologist, has been dragged into the mystery as he is the owner of Checkmate Research Group, and is the registered holder of the ABN relating to that name. He also has no idea who Checkmate Research is and where that equities report has come from. He also wouldn’t mind a call from them. The Twitter handle claiming to be Checkmate Research tweeted its complaints about The Australian’s coverage of its Credit Corporation report yesterday, but again failed to provide contact details. Come on, Checkmate Research, don’t be a stranger, all we want is a telephone number to call. Pub baron hogs news It’s not often that legendary publican Arthur Laundy can lay claim to knocking his over-achieving sons out of the news. And we’re not certain that splashing out more than $20m for the Northlakes Tavern in Charmhaven on NSW’s central coast will do the trick. Laundy teamed up with business partner Mark Malloy to snap up the pub from supermarket giant Coles, which is shortly to be spun off from the Michael Chaney-chaired Wesfarmers, and freehold owner, superannuation fund-backed property manager ISPT, where Rosemary Hartnett recently took the reins. The pub is but one of many for the tycoon who had about 63, make that 64 when we last counted. The sale is also handy for Coles as it will see it exit its NSW pub operations. Now it only has to deal with the Scott Bookmyer-run private equity shop Kohlberg Kravis Roberts as it seeks to exit its pubs and liquor business in Queensland. That deal is not happening fast and seems to require a big tick of approval from Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s government as it would need to circumvent longstanding liquor laws that effectively prevent the splitting of bottle shops and pubs that the transaction appears to hang on. Laundy’s sons, meanwhile, are not letting up on the pace. Federal Workplace Minister Craig Laundy was yesterday giving his full backing to a Federal Court ruling that will see Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union organiser Joe Myles personally pay a $19,500 penalty for unlawful conduct. Stu Laundy and Sophie Monk in happier times. And TV hostess Sophie Monk, who last year briefly found love with publican and investor Stu Laundy, on and post The Bachelorette, has been busy with her duties on Hugh Mark s’s 9Go! sleeper hit Love Island Australia. Hair raising One person planning to be at centre court rather than watching the Australian Open tennis on TV, from next year broadcast on the Nine Network thanks to a nifty deal with Tennis Australia and Seven, will be former Coles Myer boss Dennis Eck. The one-time boss of the checkout-chicks and chaps annually swaps his base in sunny California (where according to Albert Hammond it never rains but “it pours, man it pours”) for Melbourne’s tennis stadiums, where he just loves watching the little tennis ball going back and forth. Tennis lover Dennis Eck. When he hits town he also might like to check in on his little biotechnology investment Cellmid, of which he was recently made a director and also bought a 5 per cent stake in. Eck, who was pushed through the Coles check-outs in 2001 and escorted to the carpark by the board, decided to plunge more than $1m into Cellmid, which is looking at a number of disease applications (cancer, heart disease) but has a novel portfolio of hair loss and hair growth lotions. Eck isn’t getting any younger (is anyone?) and he certainly lost some hair and sent the rest white when he took a close look under the hood at Coles Myer two decades ago to discover how truly in trouble and how broken the supermarket chain was. Myer wasn’t that much better, to be honest. At least with Cellmid his shares have increased in value by almost $300,000 since he bought in to the biotech six months ago. As usual the big prize is China. So many Australian companies are trying to make sure every baby is drinking down some Australian-made infant milk formula and has proved so popular Chinese personal shoppers are stripping cans from the shelf here. But what about all those bald Chinese? Cellmid recently secured a five-year deal with an outfit called Beijing Fukangren Bio-pharm Tech Co for the distribution of its hair growth lotion. Everything in China is big, and this includes receding hairlines with Cellmid reporting that the prevalence of hair loss in the population is at about 20 per cent of men and 6 per cent of women. That’s what you’d call a “target rich” environment of 358 million potential customers. And it’s especially a worry for younger Chinese men as they desperately search for a wife. But not Chinese President Xi Jinping, who official Chinese media will surely proclaim sports a lustrous, healthy and black-as-night head of hair befitting of the man of the century leading China to a bright and glorious future. Will Glasgow and Christine Lacy are on leave. A B C D COMMENT Leader stumbling under pressure PAUL KELLY Bill Shorten looks shifty. He boasts about hurting big banks but swings his axe on the local business down the road. ICC urgently seeks out Akmal Pakistan’s Umar Akmal has been asked to explain his claims about a fixing approach allegedly made at the 2015 World Cup. Huawei bid to ease fear GLENDA KORPORAAL Huawei chief John Lord will offer to fund a testing centre here to ensure its 5G equipment is free from cybersecurity threats. ABC ‘sorry’ for accusing PM RHIAN DEUTROM The ABC has been forced to apologise over an incorrect claim involving Malcolm Turnbull and the Super Saturday polls. COMMENT Many a good man left behind GRAHAM RICHARDSON Labor’s affirmative action policy for party ballots is a big mistake. It has reared its ugly head again with a puzzling promotion. COMMENT Harley harm: Made in America WSJ EDITORIAL BOARD As the US casualties of Donald Trump’s trade war mount, the White House has some explaining to do. It is entirely to blame for Harley-Davidson’s shift offshore. 1 COMMENT … 4 people listening + Follow Share Post comment NEWEST | OLDEST | TOP COMMENTS Joy 23 HOURS AGO "There ain’t nothing wrong with short selling"? Are you kidding? Short selling stinks to high heaven. Profiting on the downfall of companies is utterly despicable and wide open to abuse of all kinds. Analogous to betting on horses or tennis players losing, short selling should be given the legislative boot for the same reasons. 1 LIKE REPLY A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites. This is also known as Online Behavioural Advertising. You can find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out here L Back to top V W a.

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