☕️ Augmented ambitions

Good morning.

With the VR sector evolving from clunky beginnings to sleek, standalone systems, Trent Clews-de Castella, the Aussie founder of Phoria, which specialises in virtual augmented and mixed reality, is eyeing a Series A raise of US$6m to fuel the startup’s next chapter.

Instead of something for just gamers, Clews-de Castella has a vision (pun intended) of VR as a venue-based experience, similar to IMAX or arcades. People will use them for top-notch - be it for workspace, retail or commercial – interactions, a trend already taking off in the US, he says.

Clews-de Castella, who co-founded his spatial computing startup 10 years ago and has finally made a splash with its debut app, REWILD, crafted for Apple’s headset Vision Pro, shares some of his insights in a Q&A with Capital Brief’s Hugo Mathers here.

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Market movers

Despite ramping up production by 24% in the June quarter, Coronado Global Resources is still feeling the sting of falling metallurgical coal prices.

Things are clearly not as bad as investors feared, with shares surging 5% after a trading update yesterday. However, with sales up 8.3% but prices down 5% from March, the coal miner's revenue is taking a dive.

Even with a share price bump, CEO Douglas Thompson has his work cut out for him, pushing for improvements while navigating the fallout from a recent fatality.

The quick sync

• Bendigo Bank’s Up is on track to hit 1m customers in October, just in time for its sixth birthday. (Capital Brief)

• Nine publishing staff will proceed with strike after rejecting a last ditch pay offer, threatening to derail Nine’s Paris Olympics coverage, the opening gambit on CEO Mike Sneesby's $305m bet on the games through to 2032. (Capital Brief)

• AUKUS tsar, Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead, says there will be setbacks but Australia is on track to meet key milestones under AUKUS. (AFR)

• ANZ investors are watching closely to see if CEO Shayne Elliott can prevent the bank's reputation from collapsing. (Capital Brief)

• ASIC alleges Chinese state firm, COFCO, manipulated wheat prices in lawsuit. (The Australian)

Trading floor

M&A

• First Sentier sold its COG Financial Services stake, with Barrenjoey managing the trades, three months after closing its $700m Australian micro-cap fund. (AFR)

• Anglo American's Grosvenor coking coal mine is unlikely to restart before its sale, despite a fire, as part of CEO Duncan Wanblad’s strategy to strengthen the company's balance sheet and counter BHP's takeover bid. (AFR)

• Glencore is a top contender to buy Anglo American’s Queensland coal mines, despite earlier doubts due to its Teck Resources acquisition. (The Australian)

• Karoon Energy announced a $38m share buyback and a capital returns policy overhaul. (Capital Brief)

• AMA Group is selling its ACM Parts unit after a 60.8% share price drop and recent equity raises. First-round offers are due in late August. (AFR)

• Oaktree Capital is in exclusive talks to invest in AZ NGA, an Italian accounting and financial advice firm, following failed negotiations with TA Associates. (AFR)

• Permira aims to sell I-MED for at least $3bn in September, with Morgan Stanley and Jefferies Australia handling the process. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• Lower prices impacted Coronado Global Resources' performance despite higher production. (Capital Brief)

• Seek's share price fell after announcing a $141m impairment charge for its Chinese business, Zhaopin, which has seen only modest recovery since Covid-19 restrictions eased. (Capital Brief)

• Meteoric Resources is raising $30m for its Caldeira rare earths project in Brazil, with Barrenjoey, Canaccord Genuity, and SCP Resource Finance as lead managers. (AFR)

• ANZ reported an "unacceptable failure" in data reporting, including bond transaction errors and conduct issues in its Sydney dealing room.

  (Capital Brief)

• Regis Resources' shares fell 8.9% to $1.74 on the ASX after reporting lower production and higher costs. (Capital Brief)

• IMRA Surgical seeks $10m in growth capital and plans a private sale in 3-4 years, aiming for profitability first. (AFR)

• Bellevue Gold reveals a five-year growth plan and $150m equity raising to reduce debt and increase production. (Capital Brief)

• Zip's shares fell after completing a $217m placement, which will repay debt and fund future growth. (Capital Brief)

• Macquarie Capital expects increased dealmaking and investment-related income this financial year, signaling a market revival. (The Australian)

VC

• None

People moves

• Insignia Financial appointed Dave Woodall as CEO of its superannuation business, starting 1 November, as part of a major overhaul. (Capital Brief)

• Stevan Premutico, founder of me&u and pioneer in QR code restaurant ordering, steps down from the board after last year's merger with Mr Yum. (BNA)

• Scyne Advisory is cutting about 90 roles, including over 10 managing directors, due to reduced government demand for external advice and a shift to a more focused strategy. (Capital Brief)

• Nine Entertainment staff rejected a revised pay offer, prompting a five-day strike during the Paris Olympics. (Capital Brief)

Together with Tribe Global Ventures

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This B2B company’s strong growth in annual recurring revenue (ARR) is occurring within a global multi-billion-dollar total addressable market servicing heavy industries, manufacturing and mining. Their sales pipeline includes customers from Australia, USA, South America, and Asia.

This opportunity is only available to sophisticated investors who meet the requirements in Section 708 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), and is subject to the terms and disclaimers outlined in the detailed Investment Memo which can be accessed here.

Tribe is a corporate authorised representative of AFSL 341675.

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