☕️ Bad apple

Good morning.

Apple and Goldman Sachs have found a way to consciously uncouple their beleaguered Accord credit card partnership. Apple has now sent a term sheet to the bank, beginning a multi-year unwinding of the alliance which Goldman had hoped would bolster its entry into consumer lending. The partnership was originally scheduled to continue for another five years.

Another failed GS consumer banking project, Marcus, became a thorn in the side of CEO David Solomon, with many Marcus execs blaming the project’s failure on Solomon’s poor decision making.

Perhaps trying to force a marriage between Goldman and the retail masses was destined to end in heartbreak.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

There is a hole in EML Payments’ bucket, and it’s leaking around $20 million a year.

The card payments provider plunged 29.7% by Wednesday’s close. It came after the company’s strategic review failed to persuade investors that the regulatory troubles of EML’s Irish card services unit were in hand.

Despite reporting a 39% increase in revenue for the year ended October, EML remains hampered by high cash burn. That’s tied to its Irish subsidiary’s battle with the country’s central bank – which is demanding a review of its AML/CTF framework.

The quick sync

• How ChatGPT changed the world in its first 12 months. (Capital Brief)

• US third quarter growth is running higher than expectations. (Reuters)

• The OECD does not expect another RBA rate hike. (AFR)

• Netflix, Disney, and Amazon are on a collision course with the Albanese government over new local content streaming quotas. (Capital Brief)

• Elliott Investment Management takes US$1bn stake in Phillips 66. (Wall Street Journal)

• EY is pushing graduate start dates back by almost a year amid business uncertainty. (Financial Times)

• Would a ‘right to erasure’ have mitigated the harm of Latitude’s data leak fiasco? Regulators think so. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Anchorage Capital Partners is considering purchasing MediaWorks amid its strategy for Southern Cross Media Group assets. (The Australian)

• Deloitte sells Tigerlily for Crescent Capital amid Australian apparel interest. (AFR)

• Codan is set to acquire Wave Central LLC for up to $21.3m. (BNA)

• Transurban is reportedly absent from EastLink toll road auction's first-round bids. (AFR)

• CMA warns Adobe's $20bn acquisition of Figma may stifle innovation in UK. (Capital Brief)

• Cat Rock Capital sells down its stake in online retailer Cettire. (AFR)

• Infomedia is now actively considering acquisitions, with a focus on groups in the United States or Europe. (The Australian)

• Partners Group enlists Integral Diagnostics chairman Toby Hall in Cura Day Hospitals bid. (AFR)

• TaxLeopard has acquired Airtax, a rival startup specialising in Business Activity Statement (BAS) and income tax return lodgement. (Startup Daily)

CAPITAL MARKETS

• Treasury Wine Estates raises $825m for DAOU acquisition. (Capital Brief)

• GoZero is close to securing a $100m asset finance facility. (AFR)

• (The Australian)

• Harvey Norman sees a 7.8% drop in sales despite favourable foreign currency movements. (Capital Brief)

VC

• Birchal is seeking to raise $3m in a second campaign on its own platform. (Startup Daily)

• EnvisionVR has successfully raised $2.585m in a funding round, attracting support from industry leaders. (Startup Daily)

People moves

• None

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The watercooler