Elders Ixl Ltd

Kaiser Engineers Group, one of the biggest and oldest engineering firms in the West, will be split into two as a result of a change in ownership announced Thursday. American Capital & Research Corp., a privately held Fairfax, Va., holding company, said it purchased control of Kaiser for an undisclosed sum from a consortium of banks led by Bank of America. As part of the deal, Kaiser's Australian and Asian operations were spun off to an affiliate of Elders Group IXL Ltd.

At first, the reaction was bemusement, with references to Crocodile Dundee. Then, there was amazement as brash Australian investors began to conquer some of America's corporate giants, with the enthusiastic help of international bankers who financed their deals to the hilt. But now, the glory days of the charismatic, globe-trotting Aussie entrepreneur appear to be on the wane.

John Elliott, who turned a small fruit and jam canner into the world's fourth-largest brewer, has become another swashbuckling Australian tycoon whose corporate ship has run aground. Just 12 months ago, Elliott, head of the Elders IXL brewing, agriculture and finance group, said he was putting together a rescue plan for embattled businessman Alan Bond, who resigned last week as chairman of debt-laden Bond Corp. Now Elliott has had to erect a safety net of his own.

The giant Australian conglomerate Elders IXL reported a 5% fall in annual profit despite an increased thirst for its Foster's Lager. Grain trading mistakes and bad debts in its finance division eroded profits. "We made a series of wrong judgments, but we're not likely to do that again," Elders Agribusiness managing director Michael Nugent said. "It was a satisfactory result from a very frustrating year," Chairman John Elliott said after the company announced a $503-million profit.

At first, the reaction was bemusement, with references to Crocodile Dundee. Then, there was amazement as brash Australian investors began to conquer some of America's corporate giants, with the enthusiastic help of international bankers who financed their deals to the hilt. But now, the glory days of the charismatic, globe-trotting Aussie entrepreneur appear to be on the wane.

The giant Australian conglomerate Elders IXL reported a 5% fall in annual profit despite an increased thirst for its Foster's Lager. Grain trading mistakes and bad debts in its finance division eroded profits. "We made a series of wrong judgments, but we're not likely to do that again," Elders Agribusiness managing director Michael Nugent said. "It was a satisfactory result from a very frustrating year," Chairman John Elliott said after the company announced a $503-million profit.

The Dutch airline and Australian brewer backing Alfred A. Checchi's $4.05-billion bid for Northwest Airlines will own nearly 20% of the airline after the acquisition. The disclosures came Friday as Checchi launched his friendly $121-a-share tender offer for NWA, parent of Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest. A spokeswoman for Checchi said KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will own 4.9% of Northwest's shares, and Australian conglomerate Elders IXL will own 14.9%. The stake shared by KLM and Elders seems to comply with federal rules that restrict foreign ownership to 25%. It is assumed that Checchi, a Los Angeles investor and former Marriott Corp.

The Dutch airline and Australian brewer backing Alfred A. Checchi's $4.05-billion bid for Northwest Airlines will own nearly 20% of the airline after the acquisition. The disclosures came Friday as Checchi launched his friendly $121-a-share tender offer for NWA, parent of Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest. A spokeswoman for Checchi said KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will own 4.9% of Northwest's shares, and Australian conglomerate Elders IXL will own 14.9%. The stake shared by KLM and Elders seems to comply with federal rules that restrict foreign ownership to 25%. It is assumed that Checchi, a Los Angeles investor and former Marriott Corp.