☕️Bitcoin Boomers

Good morning.

Cryptocurrency exchange Independent Reserve has been busy letterbox dropping houses in Sydney’s affluent Eastern Suburbs just as Bitcoin touches new record highs above US$120,000 ($180,000).

It's no small irony that a digital assets exchange is marketing its wares via paper pamphlets and the traditional advertising campaign may suggest the bull market for crypto is entering a new phase and pushing the asset class back into the mainstream.

As Capital Brief’s Jack Derwin writes, “The future may be built on blockchain but it’ll still be speculated on by property-rich Australian boomers.”

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in Block surged Monday in Sydney after news of its S&P 500 inclusion. Shares in Jack Dorsey’s company also surged in New York, rising a further 7.26%.

The quick sync

• AI is reshaping content creation but the royalties model is built to reward big players and ignore the rest, Raphael Dixon writes. (Capital Brief)

• Macquarie’s boss isn’t going anywhere, but with regulators circling and growth shifting offshore, Thursday’s AGM could chart her next big move. (Capital Brief)

• Property lobbyists are sidelined from the main economic summit but will use a separate housing roundtable to challenge the government on stalled supply and missed targets. (Capital Brief)

• Credit Suisse ignored a 2018 report accusing Sanjeev Gupta of fake trades and now UBS is left trying to recover US$900 million. (Bloomberg)

• Citi joins Goldman Sachs in asking junior bankers to reveal if they accepted other jobs. (Bloomberg)

Trading floor

M&A

• Regis Resources met FY25 gold targets and acquired the Southern Star prospect to boost exploration in WA. (Capital Brief)

• Abacus grants due diligence on $2.2b offer, but valuation still below its $1.73 NTA. (Capital Brief)

• Adamantem and LVP sell Plena Healthcare to Australian Unity for $70m. (AFR)

• Insignia warns CC Capital buyout talks may not result in a deal. (Capital Brief)

• Wesfarmers, Qantas, and others put audit contracts up for grabs, sparking competition among firms. (AFR)

• Spartan to suspend trading as Ramelius merger gets court approval. (Capital Brief)

• Macquarie to sell $2.5b Paraway Pastoral after 17 years. (AFR)

• Brookfield to buy ESR’s 19.9% Cromwell stake; shares jump. (Capital Brief)

• Polymarket buys QCX for $112m to resume US operations after regulatory hurdles. (Capital Brief)

• Blackstone and EQT advance in NOJA Power sale; KKR exits. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• South32 beat FY25 production targets, boosted sales 21%, and is reshaping its portfolio amid energy and cost pressures. (Capital Brief)

• Are Media faces collapse risk amid sale, $9.8m loss, and digital disruption. (The Australian)

• AMP Q2 platform cashflows jump 63%; superannuation posts first net inflow since 2017. (Capital Brief)

• Bell Potter leads capital raises for Elsight and Amplia, with Elsight targeting $60m. (AFR)

• IperionX halts trading before potential capital raise after securing major US defense deal. (Capital Brief)

• BKI profit dips 4% in FY25, but dividend rises. (Capital Brief)

• Carnarvon to invest $100m in WA’s Strike Energy. (AFR)

• Perenti forecasts 87% jump in FY25 cash flow, aided by asset sales and strong operations. (Capital Brief)

• Lendlease risks 9% profit hit if Mirvac wins $10bn APPF mandate. (The Australian)

• UBS downgrades Eagers to ‘sell’; shares drop on valuation and Canada expansion risks. (Capital Brief)

• Everlab raises $15m from Left Lane Capital for global growth. (AFR)

• Iron ore stocks rise on China dam project steel demand boost. (Capital Brief)

• Court orders GFG firms to file overdue ASIC reports after regulator action. (Capital Brief)

• Taroom Trough emerges as next major oil and gas play, with Shell and others eyeing its potential. (AFR)

• Australia's investment pipeline reaches $1.2t, led by clean energy and public projects, amid global headwinds. (Capital Brief)

• Employment Hero sues investor Seek over blocked platform access. (AFR)

• Trump Media puts US$2b into bitcoin, aiming to act as a crypto treasury and boost value through crypto-backed assets. (Capital Brief)

• Macquarie turns bullish, unveiling new ‘macro velocity’ theory to justify high valuations, picking six fresh stock including Seek, NextDC, Paladin, Webjet, Lovisa and Challenger.(AFR)

• REA tells realtors not to share ‘confidential’ pricing amid ACCC probe. (AFR)

VC

• None

People moves

• Bell Financial names Nick Hamilton CFO, succeeding Dean Davenport. (Capital Brief)

• Goldman Sachs hires Samuel Green as Sydney real estate MD. (AFR)

• BP names Albert Manifold as new chair amid investor pressure and strategic overhaul. (Capital Brief)

• Macquarie CEO succession speculation grows ahead of AGM, despite denials of a near-term change. (AFR)

• Morgan Stanley hires Shahsingh from UBS to head North American industrials banking (Reuters)

The watercooler