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Ex-Macquarie VPs Daniel and Will Roberts banked USD72 million apiece ($109 million) during the last financial year, new documents filed with the SEC show, making the IREN co-CEOs the best paid executives leading any Australian company, Capital Brief reports.

Though listed on the Nasdaq, IREN and a fifth of the bitcoin miner and data centre company's employees are headquartered in Sydney.  

The overwhelming majority of the brothers' pay, USD69.6 million each, came from stock grants, according to a proxy statement filed on Tuesday.

IREN's board last July instituted a reward plan that, (a la Elon Musk at Telsa), grants the co-founders extra share allocations if IREN's stock hits certain benchmarks. With its share price up nearly 900% over the last six months, sitting at USD57, each tranche was smashed.

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Market movers

Shares in gold and copper miner Greatland Resources rose Tuesday after it posted quarterly production figures ahead of market forecasts.

The quick sync

• In a market transformed by tech and low rates, the PE ratio is outdated, writes Andrew Macken. (Capital Brief)

• ASX is no longer a monopolistic asset after ASIC gave Cboe the green light to list companies and chip away at the exchange’s premium. (Capital Brief)

• By failing to protect shareholder votes, the ASX is steering Australia’s public markets into decline, writes Dimitri Burshtein and Patrick Young. (Capital Brief)

• CFA Level I success rate falls to 43% while AI models master the final exam in minutes, deepening concerns over the future of finance jobs. (Bloomberg)

• BlackRock’s IBIT is by far its most profitable ETF, closing in on USD100 billion in assets five times faster than any other fund in history. (Bloomberg)

Trading floor

M&A

• Aware Super and TelstraSuper to merge into $235b fund by FY26. (Capital Brief)

• Solly Lew renews interest in Myer after stock slump. (AFR)

• Trump administration weighs selling parts of $1.6t student loan portfolio. (Capital Brief)

• Barrenjoey to sell Primavera’s Vitaco for up to $500m amid slow M&A market. (The Australian)

• Crown set to sell luxury golf course to Fox family for $100m+. (AFR)

• Ikea buys logistics firm Locus to boost online growth and cut delivery costs. (Capital Brief)

• Amcor plans partial sell-down of $1b US drinks packaging unit ahead of full exit. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• ASB Bank will pay $120m to settle a New Zealand credit law class action. (Capital Brief)

• Infratil’s CDC stake rose $32m after CDC’s valuation climbed to $13.6b. (Capital Brief)

• US private equity firms circle BHP’s $1b nickel assets sale. (The Australian)

• Rio Tinto invests $389m in WA iron ore project with Mitsui and Nippon Steel. (Capital Brief)

• Carma targets $242m–$316m IPO as ASX listing roadshow begins. (AFR)

• ASIC okays Cboe to launch listings market and compete with ASX. (Capital Brief)

• DroneShield to spend $13m on new Adelaide defence R&D hub. (Capital Brief)

• Coles’ dairy expansion alarms farmers over rising market power. (AFR)

• Web Travel Group’s first-half transaction value jumps 22% to $3.17b. (Capital Brief)

• Tolu Minerals seeks $60m to fund PNG gold projects after CEO exit. (AFR)

• Fortescue to repay up to $907m of debt through tender offer. (Capital Brief)

• ASIC finds auditors breaching independence rules, issues penalties and undertakings. (Capital Brief)

• Mesoblast’s Ryoncil revenue jumps 66% to $33.1m. (Capital Brief)

• Argonaut Securities posts record revenue, lifts pay and dividends. (AFR)

• ASX delays reforms, weakening shareholder rights and trust in public markets. (Capital Brief)

• Greatland shares jump on stronger-than-expected gold output. (Capital Brief)

• Octopus Deploy prioritises growth over profit after Insight Partners’ investment. (AFR)

• OpenAI’s huge AMD chip deal fuels talk of an AI market bubble. (Capital Brief)

• ASX waivers let $2.4b Predictive–Robex merger bypass shareholder vote. (AFR)

• NYSE owner nears $2b investment in Polymarket, valuing it up to $10b. (Capital Brief)

• Macquarie tops M&A rankings after Santos deal collapse. (AFR)

• WTO lifts 2025 trade forecast but warns tariffs will slow 2026 growth. (Capital Brief)

• ANZ fights NZ class action as CBA’s ASB settles for $135.6m. (AFR)(Capital Brief)

• IREN co-founders Daniel and Will Roberts became Australia’s highest-paid CEOs, earning $109m each after Bitcoin miner’s 900% stock surge. (Capital Brief)

• Aussie firms boost ASEAN expansion amid trade shifts from Trump’s tariffs. (Capital Brief)

• Salesforce tells clients it won’t pay hackers for data extortion. (Bloomberg)

• OpenAI’s lavish AMD deal has markets buzzing, but bubble-watchers see more sizzle than steak. (Capital Brief)

• Glencore’s Mount Isa smelter will get a taxpayer lifeline as Labor faces a wave of subsidy demands from manufacturers. (AFR)

• Elton John and Paul McCartney push for review of UK song royalties, citing rising costs and lack of transparency. (Bloomberg)

VC 

• Parenting app PAM raises NZD570k Seed funding after topping NZ App Store. (Startup Daily)

• AWS picks two Australian startups for its 2025 Generative AI Accelerator. (Smart Company)

People moves

• Glass Lewis urges James Hardie board overhaul after Azek backlash and $8b value loss. (AFR)

• Musk appoints ex-Morgan Stanley banker Anthony Armstrong as CFO to help steer xAI and nurse X back to financial health. (FT)

The watercooler