☕️Bumble Fumble

Good morning.

Bumble is breaking up with 240 workers, around one third of its global headcount, it announced via a securities filing on Wednesday, saying that cuts are part of its plans to realign its “operating structure to optimise execution on its strategic priorities.”

It may be cuffing season downunder, but further north where Bumble is listed, the move is expected to save the dating app US$40 million ($61.3 million) per year which it plans to re-invest into product and technology development (otherwise known as a post break-up glow-up)…and given the app’s shares are up around 20% on the news, it sounds like Bumble’s best friends investors will agree that it’s high time she focused on herself.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in Emerald Resources plunged over 10% on Wednesday after it warned June quarter gold production would fall short of guidance, dragging other miners lower as prices dipped on easing geopolitical risk.

The quick sync

• To dodge 'fast money' and investor hype, Tetratherix shrinks its IPO, and bets on patience over pop. (Capital Brief)

• Stablecoins are booming but no one can explain why. The BIS and top fintechs agree they solve no real problems. (Capital Brief)

• A new ethics test cheating scandal has hit Deloitte, PwC and EY with US$8.5m in fines, exposing deep cracks in Big Four culture regulators are scrambling to fix. (FT)

• Xero’s surprise $4b bet on Melio is a swing-for-the-fences play that will test investor faith in its US ambitions (and its CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy’s sky-high pay). (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Xero to buy Melio for $3.9b to boost US growth and double revenue by FY28. (Capital Brief)

• South32’s sale of a Colombian mine stalls as tax dispute enters fifth year. (AFR)

• DroneShield wins $61.6m in European military anti-drone contracts, with deliveries due by Q3 2025. (Capital Brief)

• Carlyle eyes more Australian energy assets after bids for Strike, Santos, and Woodside. (The Australian)

• PointsBet approved MIXI’s $402m buyout, rejecting Betr’s challenge. (Capital Brief)

• ART aims to lift its ElectraNet stake from 11% to 28%, buying a 17% share from Macquarie’s Infrastructure Fund, with Barrenjoey advising. (AFR)

• Pinnacle CEO Ian Macoun sells $76.7m in shares to reinvest in Metrics funds, pauses further sales for 3 months. (Capital Brief)

• Humm Group chair Andrew Abercrombie’s family office, TAG, has made a $286m non-binding takeover bid for the fintech. (Capital Brief)

• Santos’ $36.4b suitor ADNOC has hired top Labor-linked lobbyists to help advance its takeover proposal. (AFR)

• EML settles shareholder class action for $37m over PFS acquisition issues. (Capital Brief)

• Shell denies report of BP takeover talks, calling it speculation. (Capital Brief) (Bloomberg)

Capital Markets

• DASH’s capital raise lifts Bailador’s stake value by 49%, with $18b in funds under advice. (Capital Brief)

• Rex gets $30m govt funding, court extends admin to December for sale talks. (Capital Brief)

• Xero is set to launch a nearly $2b capital raise for M&A, with UBS and JPMorgan managing the offer. (AFR)

• Uranium stocks rise as UBS lifts price forecast on stronger US nuclear policy. (Capital Brief)

• Optus will subsidise Stan’s Premier League rights with $40M a year despite giving them up. (AFR)

• Infragreen rises 15% on ASX debut after $40m IPO to repay debt, fund green investments. (Capital Brief)

• Crypto casino Shuffle aims to rival Stake, echoing a trend among Aussies chasing billions in a shady industry. (AFR)

• ACCC okays banks, retailers to back Armaguard and ensure cash transport services continue. (Capital Brief)

• Data centre giant CDC is seeking a $1.4b debt facility to fund growth, with Barrenjoey advising on the deal. (AFR)

• Star shareholders approve $300m lifeline from Bally’s and Mathieson to avoid collapse. (Capital Brief)

• The Fed plans to cut the eSLR, easing capital rules for big banks in one of the largest regulatory rollbacks since the GFC. (Capital Brief)

• Escala staff voted to end their 51% revenue share, dissolving a legacy structure from the firm’s 2019 acquisition by Focus Financial. (AFR)

• Tetratherix cut its IPO to $25m to avoid “fast money” investors, with CEO Will Knox preferring long-term backers who understand the biotech’s clinical focus. (Capital Brief)

• Macquarie tips NSX to rival AIM under Canadian ownership, targeting small-cap tech and life sciences with $50m revenue potential. (AFR)

• Jim Chalmers pushes back on US ‘revenge tax’ plan, warning it unfairly targets $400b in Aussie super. (AFR)

VC

• FoundIt raises $2m pre-Seed to give home buyers better property insights. (Startup Daily)

People moves

• Paladin names COO Paul Hemburrow as new CEO amid leadership expansion. (Capital Brief)

• ASX names Anne Loveridge to board, splits audit and risk committees to boost oversight amid ASIC probe. (Capital Brief)

• Federal Court finds ABC unlawfully sacked Antoinette Lattouf over political views. (Capital Brief)

The watercooler