☕️ Board Games

Good morning.

Humm Group shareholders are seething after the BNPL firm appeared to try softening (or delaying) an impending board spill by simultaneously announcing a $385 million takeover approach from debt collector Credit Corp…Problem is, Humm only revealed the indicative takeover proposal to investors four weeks after the approach was made.

A spokesperson for activist shareholders Raper Capital and Collins Street told Capital Brief that the timing “seems to be very, very coincidental. But I can tell you the narrative that the board will run now. They’ll say that the board shouldn’t be distracted from negotiating with Credit Corp.”

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in Liontown soared Wednesday as Morgan Stanley pointed to stronger lithium demand driven by rising electric vehicle sales in China and robust battery energy storage system demand.

The lithium miner stock was further supported after JPMorgan upgraded its lithium outlook and lifted Liontown to overweight, citing widening near-term supply deficits and improving price support.

The quick sync

• Stephen Donaghue’s exit forces urgent search for solicitor-general ahead of key High Court social media case. (Capital Brief)

• Investors pushing to spill Humm’s board say the late Credit Corp bid disclosure shows the company is shielding its leadership. (Capital Brief)

• Labor moves to reframe debate on Bondi attack as Chalmers pushes through MYEFO and hits back at Coalition critics. (Capital Brief)

• In 2025, AI favoured speed over size in Australia’s startup race. (Capital Brief)

• Google is pushing to break Nvidia’s AI stranglehold by making its chips work seamlessly with Meta-backed PyTorch in new initiative. (Reuters)

Trading floor

M&A

• BOQ’s $3.8b equipment finance portfolio attracts bids from Apollo, Cerberus, and Blackstone; sale process extends into 2026. (Capital Brief)

• Affinity exits Paramount’s Warner Bros bid, citing strong competition. (Capital Brief)

• Warner Bros board backs Netflix deal, tells shareholders to reject Paramount’s $163.7b bid. (Capital Brief)

• Continental AG puts Australian Mycar chain up for sale. (AFR)

• GrainCorp plans to sell its Canadian supply chain GrainsConnect at a $5–10m loss, causing its shares to fall sharply. (Capital Brief).

• Northwest and Calvary’s bid for 12 Healthscope hospitals is blocked; other healthcare groups pursue individual acquisitions. (The Australian)

• Credit Corp bids for Humm Group; shareholders push board shake-up. (Capital Brief)

• HotDoc sale nears pre-Christmas deal with two PE firms in final competition. (AFR)

• Westgold sells Mt Henry project to Alicanto for $64.6m, retaining 19.9% stake. (Capital Brief)

• LawVu buys ClauseBase to grow its AI legal workspace platform. (Capital Brief)

• GrainCorp to sell loss-making Canadian unit, worrying investors. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• Medline is lining up a possible USD7b IPO that could be the world’s biggest float this year. (Capital Brief)

• Treasury Wine shares sank after disappointing guidance highlighted ongoing weakness in the US and China markets. (Capital Brief)

• Boss Energy paused trading ahead of an update on its troubled Honeymoon project. (Capital Brief)

• NextDC faces hurdles in its capital partnership as proposed returns fail to attract investors. (AFR)

• Santos is divesting two non-core assets as part of its portfolio optimisation. (Capital Brief)

• Deep Yellow locked in power supply for its Tumas project. (Capital Brief)

• Westpac now expects no rate cuts in 2026. (Capital Brief)

• Sydney Fish Market hosts its last Christmas marathon at the current location. (AFR)

• AirTrunk to build second Osaka hyperscale data centre. (Capital Brief)

• Australia’s first tokenised corporate bond settles in minutes. (Capital Brief)

• CSIRO gets $233m funding after job cuts; Academy of Science urges long-term R&D investment. (Capital Brief)

• AMP: Debt improved, but high spending and structural pressures mean ongoing fiscal restraint needed. (Capital Brief)

• Amazon in talks to invest USD10B in OpenAI. (Capital Brief)

• Build Club launches Solaris AI to fast-track enterprise AI adoption with workflow-tracking desktop agents. (Startup Daily)

• Lithium shares jump on strong EV and battery demand outlook. (Capital Brief)

• LG Energy Solution loses $9.8b Ford EV battery deal amid reduced EV plans. (Capital Brief)

• SQC achieves silicon-based 11-qubit breakthrough, boosting scalable quantum computing prospects. (Capital Brief)

• Oracle’s USD10b Michigan data centre won’t be funded by Blue Owl. (Capital Brief)

• Dalio, BlackRock join donor list for ‘Trump Account’ program. (Bloomberg)

• Fed Chair candidate Christopher Waller says rates could be cut by as much as a full point. (FT)

• ANZ set for second strike as investors demand more accountability. (AFR)

VC 

• Ferronova raises $6m to advance cancer-detecting nanoparticle tech. (Startup Daily)

People moves

• PointsBet appoints Andrew Catterall as group CEO, with Sam Swanell moving to an advisory role. (Capital Brief)

• SGH named John Gillam as its new chairman from February 2026. (Capital Brief)

• CLSA boosts Australian team with hires and promotions, including Mark Innes. (AFR)

• Star Entertainment shares rise as Bruce Mathieson Jnr becomes CEO. (Capital Brief)

• Tetratherix names Peter Gray as new non-executive director. (Capital Brief)

The watercooler