☕️Alpha Kings

Good morning.

In times of panic, look to the helpers (of alpha). Sitting on piles of cash, Buffett has really earned his ‘oracle’ moniker in the past few days, Colonial First State is scanning the horizon for opportunities to pour its coffers into unlisted assets, and the world’s wealthiest people are privatising assets like there is no tomorrow.

While it might look like the market is too unpredictable to make any good decisions, if you haven’t made an enemy of a key Trump advisor by calling them “dumber than a sack of bricks,” you’re probably on a better wicket than Elon Musk.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

The ASX notched its biggest one-day gain since 2022, rebounding 2.3% as every sector rallied, with uranium play Boss Energy leading the charge with an 11% surge.

The quick sync

• Xero defends $25m pay for CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy amid doubts about US market success. (Capital Brief)

• Blackbird and Airtree back $2.5m fund to support student-led startups with $70k investments. (Capital Brief)

• Super funds keep ESG investments but reduce public advocacy due to political shifts. (Capital Brief)

• Coalition softens TikTok stance, aligns with Labor amid US deal efforts. (Capital Brief)

• Over 10 bids have been received for StrongRoom AI, with the administrator aiming to finalise a sale as early as next week amid staff cuts. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• GLNG has bid for Meridian, valued between $400m and $900m, but Mitsui may not accept the offer. (The Australian)

• Pacific Equity Partners has withdrawn from the sale of Imaging Associates after negotiations with Advent Partners stalled. (AFR)

• Quadrant Private Equity is buying out Oaktree's stake in Mediaworks, which owns key radio and outdoor assets in New Zealand, amid financial struggles. (The Australian)

• Family-owned pork processor BE Campbell begins sale process with Miles Advisory Partners. (AFR)

• Book An Artist acquires Wescover to merge both platforms into a unified marketplace for custom art, expanding its US presence. (Smart Company)

• Permira’s I-MED sale has resumed, with Bain Capital and Macquarie Asset Management revisiting the deal, though concerns remain over the $3b price tag. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• Zip Co announces $50m buyback, citing strong finances and future growth. (Capital Brief)

• West African Resources holds steady in Q1, on track for 2025 gold target. (Capital Brief)

• GYG Q3 sales surge boosts FY profit outlook; first dividend planned for Sept 2025. (Capital Brief)

• Insignia's potential deal faces uncertainty after an 11% share price drop amid market volatility from Trump’s tariffs. (AFR)

• Albanese won’t rule out recession as US-China trade war escalates. (Capital Brief)

• Cochlear has confirmed its hearing implants will remain duty-free in the US despite new tariffs, easing earlier concerns. (Capital Brief)

• Australian consumer sentiment dropped sharply in April due to concerns over Trump’s tariff policies, with all key indicators in the Westpac survey showing declines. (Capital Brief)

• China has vowed strong retaliation after Trump threatened an extra 50% tariff, calling the move a serious misstep. (Capital Brief)

• Chris Hadley, boss of Quadrant Private Equity, banked a significant windfall from his investment in Blackbird Ventures' early successes. (AFR)

• China halts Shein’s supply chain shift as trade tensions escalate. (Capital Brief) (Bloomberg)

• Rugby Australia signs $210m deal with Nine to broadcast Wallabies and Super Rugby matches until the end of the decade. (AFR)

• Global markets rebound as Trump’s tariffs loom, with China vowing resistance. (Capital Brief)

• The Queensland government is backing Evolution Mining’s plan to convert its Mt Rawdon gold mine into a pumped hydro project. (Capital Brief)

• Coalition’s gas plan promises price cuts, with 3% reduction expected in two years. (Capital Brief)

• The Queensland government unveils energy plan, revises emissions targets, and shifts Borumba hydro oversight. (Capital Brief)

• Bally’s plans to transform Star Entertainment, citing poor management, but believes the casinos can become profitable quickly. (AFR)

• KordaMentha takes legal action to secure Whyalla port control, crucial for steelworks' future. (Capital Brief)

• Greens push for negative gearing and CGT reforms in minority government talks. (Capital Brief)

• EY Oceania's leadership remains unchanged in the global restructure, but redundancies are likely due to cuts in the Asia-Pacific division. (AFR)

• Elon Musk publicly criticized Trump’s trade adviser Peter Navarro as tensions rise amid falling Tesla stock and ongoing trade war concerns. (Capital Brief)

• Dai-ichi’s 15.1% stake in Challenger has fueled takeover speculation, with analysts suggesting it may increase its holdings and acquire control, including shares from Apollo. (The Australian)

• Regal Partners' Phil King sees the current market slump as a typical correction, not a major downturn. (AFR)

• Professor Warwick McKibbin, a respected former RBA board member and creator of the globally used G-Cubed economic model, believes Australia will avoid a recession. (AFR)

• Illawarra Hawks owner takes NBL boss Larry Kestelman to court in explosive power struggle over financial transparency and league control. (AFR)

• Euronext CEO says sweeping US tariffs are making markets volatile and the country look more like an emerging economy than a stable global leader. (Reuters)

• Hackers accessed 150,000 sensitive emails from US bank regulators for over a year, in a breach flagged as a major threat to public confidence. (Bloomberg)

• JPMorgan warns junk and private credit bonds face deeper losses as tariffs and a looming US recession drive spreads wider and investor caution grows. (Bloomberg)

• ‘My Bad’: Bill Ackman lays bare Wall Street’s big fail on Trump (Bloomberg)

• US bank earnings season is kicking off under a cloud of recession fears, with loan loss reserves, market volatility and cautious lending set to dominate investor focus. (Reuters)

• Andreessen Horowitz is aiming to raise a record US$20b AI megafund, tapping global investor demand to back US startups. (Reuters)

• Meta races to get ahead of looming child safety laws by expanding teen privacy controls to Facebook and Messenger. (Reuters)

• Trump's Justice Department disbands crypto crime unit, narrowing focus to terrorism and cartels as it rolls back Biden-era enforcement. (Reuters)

• Musk’s secretive DOGE unit is using AI to surveil federal workers for anti-Trump sentiment, raising legal and ethical alarms over data use and transparency. (Reuters)

• Japan built a 3D-printed train station overnight, hinting at a future where rural infrastructure keeps running with fewer people and tighter budgets. (NYT)

• A growing group of House Republicans may back a bill curbing presidential tariff powers, setting up a rare bipartisan challenge to Trump's trade agenda. (Axios)

• Gold Road demands a higher bid as new study reveals Gruyere mine could deliver years more gold, challenging $3.3b takeover offer. (AFR)

VC

• Woolworths invests $70m in Hola Health, enabling virtual doctor appointments and loyalty points for customers. (AFR)

• Qantas and Airbus invest $15m in Climate Tech Partners to accelerate SAF development and aviation emissions reduction. (Startup Daily)

• Gridsight raises $7.5m to expand its AI platform that helps electricity networks manage renewable energy and reduce infrastructure costs. (Smart Company)

People moves

• Mike Sneesby will replace Sam Barnett as CEO of MBC, Saudi Arabia’s largest broadcaster, starting May 1. (AFR)

The watercooler