☕️ Car Chase

Good morning.

After a decade of losses, is the rideshare business turning it around?

Overnight in Singapore, Grab posted its first ever adjusted profit in the face of slowing demand and growing competition in Southeast Asia.

It has a way to go. Yet by cutting costs and maintaining growth, Grab is following the formula set out by Uber, which reported “profitable growth” this week, and Lyft which continues to chase it.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Despite posting a first-half profit, Xero shares slumped on Thursday. While some analysts labelled the result as below expectation, others are happy to wait for green shoots to appear.

Why? CEO Singh Cassidy began a restructure of the accounting company when she took over at the start of the year. While costs have come out of the business, investors are wanting to see a broader overhaul. Those changes may take years to bear fruit.

Together with Stake | Invest on Wall St and the ASX

The quick sync

• A ransomware attack on China’s largest bank ICBC has left it unable to settle US Treasuries. (Financial Times)

• Auckland Airport has found $700m worth of interest in an Aussie dollar 10-year bond. (Capital Brief)

• Nvidia has designed three new chips to circumvent restrictions on the Chinese market. (Financial Times)

• Nine and Seven are both navigating tough advertising markets but only one has a plan that is convincing investors. (Capital Brief)

• Softbank has had to swallow a US$6.2 billion quarterly loss following the collapse of WeWork. (CNBC)

Trading floor

M&A

• Antony Catalano, chair of Australian Community Media, makes a move to disrupt ARN Media's acquisition plans for Southern Cross Austereo. (AFR)

• CleanPeak Energy acquires Sentient Impact Group's 14.5MW solar farms portfolio in Canberra and Western Australia. (AFR)

• Sky Network Television board under increasing pressure to deliver strategy after rejecting 50% higher US private equity buyout offer. (The Australian)

• Origin Energy experiences a surge in trading with nearly 44 million shares changing hands, reflecting a 326% increase. (AFR)

• Proxy adviser CGI Glass Lewis recommends Origin Energy investors back a $20 billion takeover despite the "uphill battle." (AFR)

• Barbeques Galore faces another management buyout as Quadrant Private Equity expresses interest in a business sale. (The Australian)

• Synlait's Dairyworks sale faces delays as bids from top private equity firms miss price expectations. (AFR)

CAPITAL MARKETS

• Peak Rare Earths taps Macquarie Capital as strategic and financial adviser for $100M Ngualla Rare Earth Project funding. (The Australian)

• Wildcat Resources seeks $80M funding with Canaccord Genuity and Euroz Hartleys amidst 19.85% stake acquisition by Mineral Resources' Chris Ellison. (AFR)

• Tritium faces financial struggles despite revenue surge, announces closure of Brisbane factory with hundreds of jobs at risk. (BNA)

• Assembly Funds Management secures over $115M for ADPF2 in the initial close, with backing from Lowy Family, Alceon, and Michael Gutman. (AFR)

• Seven West Media, backed by Kerry Stokes, enlists Grant Samuel and Ashurst for $600M debt refinancing. (The Australian)

• Kashcade secures $5.5M financing for growth, led by existing backer Prandium Capital. (AFR)

• Orica raises dividend and outlook as strong commodities demand boosts full-year profits. (Capital Brief)

VC

• Stone & Chalk launches Venture Connect: a platform facilitating swift connections between corporations and startup 'gems.' (BNA)

• Lounge, a London-based startup connecting university students, secures $4m in seed round led by Square Peg. (Startup Daily)

• Telstra Ventures invests in Israeli tech firm Tabnine and its AI-powered assistant for software developers. (Capital Brief)

People moves

• Alison Deans joins Main Sequence Ventures leadership team as a venture partner. (Startup Daily)

Insight of the week by Stake

Diamonds lose their sparkle

‘Diamonds are forever’, says the old De Beers slogan. And though their durability is undeniably true, the same cannot be said about the gems’ price returns. After nearing all-time highs in 2022, diamond prices have fallen by as much as 40% (depending on carats and other specifications), with both consumer spending dropping due to inflation and demand for lab-grown stones soaring among industrial companies.

But don’t rush to buy your significant other a fancy gift: the drop is most pronounced for gems meant for industrial use. With the industrial market being the biggest for diamond mining companies, mining firms could find themselves, much like the unmined stones, stuck between a rock and a hard place.

This is not financial advice.

The watercooler