☕️ Blame game

Good morning.

In a rare show of public constructive criticism among private funds, distressed debt specialist Oaktree has called out PE shops Advent and Silver Lake for their role in the bankruptcy of e-commerce startup Thrasio.

The blunt letter to investors, reported by the FT, shows Oaktree wrote down the entirety of its US$114m ($171m) investment in the company to US$0, accusing the firms of poor oversight and misplaced trust in their judgement.

“We believed that Advent and Silver Lake, experienced PE firms with whom we have partnered numerous times, would be steady hands at the helm and able to professionalise the business,” the letter says, adding that “this proved to be incorrect”.

Thrasio expanded aggressively during the pandemic, reaching a US$6bn ($9bn) valuation in 2021 before declaring bankruptcy in February 2024.

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Market movers

Synlait's share price fell on Friday despite NZ RegCo and the Takeovers Panel dismissing a shareholder complaint.

The complaint, lodged by John Penno, argued that the dairy company's planned recap involving placements to Bright Dairy and The a2 Milk Company, should be treated as a single transaction to prevent voting conflicts.

The regulators said they would not pursue further action, providing some but not enough relief, as shares recovered to $0.375, from an intraday low of $0.350.

The quick sync

• Australian deep tech is catching the interest of offshore venture capital, as Silicon Valley’s DCVC sees strong universities and a vibrant startup ecosystem. (Capital Brief)

• Companies are issuing record volumes of US debt as they move to head off possible volatility from economic data, a Federal Reserve meeting and a presidential election. (FT)

• In the impact investing space, the best decisions are not always the most obvious ones, Koda Capital CIO Norman Zhang explains. (Capital Brief)

• Qantas could face a forced sell-off of Jetstar under a proposal from the Coalition to lower airfares. (AFR)

• Myer is considering buying an apparel portfolio from Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments as leaked documents show sharply declining sales and earnings at those brands. (The Australian)

Trading floor

M&A

• Australian Retirement Trust is set to become the largest shareholder in New Zealand’s Powerco after signing a deal to acquire a 33% stake in the $2bn business. (AFR)

• Five V Capital is launching Frontier Fund I, a $325m fund aimed at smaller mid-market companies with EBITDA under $7m, focusing on deals too small for their buyout funds. (AFR)

• The Star Entertainment Group sold its leasehold in the Treasury Brisbane Casino to Griffith University for $67.5m, as it seeks to refinance over $1bn in debt. (BNA)

• Mighty Craft’s collapse hurt shareholders and creditors, but Pure Asset Management gained a 33% stake in Better Beer after acquiring it through a debt-for-equity swap. (The Australian)

• Salesforce is acquiring data protection company Own for $1.9bn, highlighting its commitment to secure data solutions. (AFR)

• Jeremy Grantham’s foundation led a $17.5m Series A round for Allegro Energy with contributions from Origin Energy and other investors. (AFR)

• OzHarvest moved closer to its self-funding goal by acquiring corporate hospitality business Gastronomy. (BNA)

• Jarden anticipates a partial selldown of CDC after the $24bn AirTrunk sale, but valuing private data centre operators like CDC is difficult due to operator differences. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• Four new companies are set to debut on the ASX, with six firms raising $71m by October. (The Australian)

VC

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People moves

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The watercooler