Is there a takeover predator lurking in the wings for B&B? If...

Is there a takeover predator lurking in the wings for B&B? If there is, the insider traders have cleaned up. The company has debunked the rumour after receiving a "speeding ticket'' from the ASX asking it to explain the surge in its stock price. Not that that rules out a corporate play.

In the present climate though, and in view of B&B's debts and hidden management agreements over its satellites a bid would be unlikely, despite the quality of the underlying assets.

The irony is that a change of control in B&B, were a bid to succeed, would probably void the management agreements and choke B&B's fee flow. A quick death that is. The group derives more than 90% of its income from its satellite stocks. B&B Power and B&B Infrastructure alone tipped in $270 million in fees last year.

But what is a change of control, what does it constitute? Thanks to the regulatory failure to enforce reasonable disclosure we don't know. The management agreements are secret.