☕️ Burning man

Spare a thought for the billionaires.

September 05, 2023

Good morning.

If you haven’t heard, Burning Man is on – and it is not going well. Floods have left thousands stranded, with festival goers forced to trek through the mud after vehicle access and some camps were closed.

A big hit amongst Silicon Valley types, this year’s attendees include Kimbal Musk and Google cofounder Sergey Brin. With private jet access now closed, this year’s event looks like even members of the billionaire class can’t buy their way through challenging weather. A precursor for the climate crisis?

LOI Subscriber #TBD

MARKET MOVERS

*Stock data as of the market close. Commodities and crypto data in USD.

Market News: Liontown Resources soared yesterday after motioning it would accept a revised $6.6 billion takeover bid from Albemarle.

The WA lithium miner had knocked back four offers from the American chemicals giant in less than a year but will open its books at $3 a share – a 36% premium on the first bid back in October.

Analysts says it suggests that lithium is being undervalued. If everyone’s happy, Liontown will endorse the deal to shareholders. Perseverance prevails.

THE QUICK SYNC

  • Russia has borrowed billions worth of renminbi to replace the dollar amid Ukraine sanctions. (Financial Times)

  • The government in Italy is scrambling to make a new profit tax on banks work (CNBC)

  • Novo Nordisk is Europe’s most valuable company after taking its weight loss drug to the UK. (Financial Times)

  • BMW has warned that European carmakers are at imminent risk from Chinese competition (Financial Times)

  • A new Huawei phone demonstrates how China is circumventing restrictions on chips. (Bloomberg)

  • Australian PM Anthony Albanese looks like doubling down on Indonesia at this week’s ASEAN summit. (Capital Brief)

TRADING FLOOR

M&A:

  • Genesis Capital is reportedly competing to acquire Ekera Dental, which is on the market through Allier Capital. (The Australian)

  • Vicinity Centres has mandated Jarden and CBRE to help it find compatible capital partners. (AFR)

  • JPMorgan and Barrenjoey expanded Ventia's block trade from $331m to $440m, while Apollo Global reduced its stake by an additional $69m. (AFR)

  • Barrenjoey Capital Partners has joined forces with JPMorgan to represent Albemarle in its $6.6bn takeover bid for Liontown Resources. (AFR | The Australian)

  • Aurora Healthcare has hired PwC for a potential refinancing while UBS drums up interest in a sale of the business (Capital Brief)

  • Mineral Resources is the mystery bidder that has signed an implementation deed to buy West Australian lithium mine Bald Hill out of administration. (AFR)

  • The Liontown and Bald Hill lithium deals solidify the US critical minerals alliance. (AFR)

  • Pepper is taking an unconventional approach by acquiring HSBC's home loan portfolio in New Zealand. (AFR)

  • Central Element has set a new high for Bondi Beach by acquiring a development site for $51m. (BNA)

Capital Markets:

  • Energet has hired PwC to hunt for a new backer. (AFR)

  • Orora is gearing up to secure $1.35bn in funding from publicly traded equity investors to finance its purchase of Saverglass. (AFR | The Australian)

  • Judo Bank is getting ready to make its debut in the securitization markets with a transaction ranging from $350m to $500m. (AFR)

  • APRA has endorsed Canva's $39bn valuation, indicating that investors have made accurate assessments when supporting private tech firms. (Startup Daily)

  • Pepper Money is in the process of preparing the first high-yield bond issuance that the Australian market has seen in a while. (The Australian)

VC:

  • How Canva drove the returns for Blackbird, Airtree and Square Peg’s first funds (AFR)

Others:

  • Deloitte warns that businesses are not swiftly adopting Gen AI technology, despite a looming $600bn disruption in the market. (BNA)

  • Tyro Payments is targeting agent Kounta for promoting a competing service in its marketing efforts. (BNA)

  • LATAM has re-launched direct flights between Melbourne and Chile's capital Santiago. (BNA)

CAPITAL BRIEF SPECIAL ACCESS

Capital Brief is a new publication for the people who will power the next generation of Australian commerce.

In less than two weeks since launch, our exclusive journalism includes:

As a Letter of Intent reader, you can activate 45-days Special Access for free. All that’s required is your email address.

THE WATERCOOLER