☕️ Car trouble

What happens when the EV market turns on China?

Good morning.

Parts of Europe once led the globe on the adoption of electric vehicles. Now the EU is turning on the world’s largest producer.

Brussels has announced an investigation into Chinese EVs, alleging heavily subsidies are distorting its market while European cars are being “excluded from foreign markets”.

It’s already being tipped to be the biggest trade case to be launched as Europe tries to protect its automakers – and avoid a repeat of the bankruptcies that crippled its solar industry a decade ago.

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MARKET MOVERS

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

Market News: After plummeting 85% in value in just two years, the billionaire owner of Pact Group Holdings looks like taking it off the ASX boards.

Its largest stakeholder, businessman Raphael Geminder, has made a play for the rest of PGH in a bid to take the packaging company private.

Shares jumped on Wednesday beyond the 68 cents he has offered which is unusual given how unlikely a competing bid would be. After all, the Geminder family already owns half the stock.

THE QUICK SYNC

  • The High Court has ruled against Qantas, finding the airline illegally outsourced over 1,600 jobs during the pandemic. (ABC)

  • Bernard Looney, the chief executive of BP, has resigned after having undisclosed relationships with colleagues. (Financial Times)

  • Australia’s smaller banks are ‘unviable’, the industry warns (Capital Brief)

  • Google has announced hundreds of layoffs in its recruitment arm. (CNN)

  • Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has ruled out scrapping the country’s controversial new banking profits tax. (Financial Times)

  • Arm will reportedly IPO at US$52 a share, putting its market cap at over US$50 billion. (CNBC)

  • Citigroup is restructuring its org chart, handing more power to its CEO Jane Fraser. (Financial Times)

TRADING FLOOR

M&A:

  • Lamb Weston, the U.S. French fries giant, has acquired Crackerjack Foods. (AFR)

  • Energy companies are increasingly interested in potential acquisitions, including Woodside's oil and gas projects (The Australian)

  • Coassemble initiated a formal sale process in response to unsolicited interest from potential buyers. (AFR)

  • Viva Energy shares drop after Vitol confirms stake sale. (Capital Brief)

  • Macquarie suggests North American suitors should raise their bid for Origin Energy to a minimum of $10 per share or higher. (AFR)

Capital Markets:

  • Stanmore Resources is seeking $1.25bn in debt to acquire BHP's available Blackwater and Daunia mines in Queensland. (AFR)

  • Mason Stevens initiates its IPO campaign, inviting comparisons to HUB24 and Netwealth which trade at earnings multiples of up to 20 times. (The Australian)

  • Sesimi seeks a strategic investor to join its shareholder roster, with Lempriere Wells leading the search. (AFR)

  • Centuria Capital secures a $500m institutional investment mandate from a U.S. private investment firm. (SMH)

  • Lighthouse Infrastructure is gearing up to secure over $400m for its energy transition strategy. (AFR)

VC:

  • None

Others:

  • Binance's U.S. affiliate will eliminate 100 positions and appoint a new CEO as crypto industry regulations tighten. (Capital Brief)

  • Morgan Stanley analysts value a Premier Investments breakup at $41 per share. (The Australian)

  • Experts are urging the NSW government to consider alternatives in negotiating with Origin Energy over its Eraring coal plant (Capital Brief)

  • Richard Saywell, Head of Natural Resources at Ord Minnett, is making a move to join Brent Potts’ Blue Ocean Equities. (AFR)

  • Google facing allegations of paying $16bn annually to maintain its dominance in the search industry. (SMH)

  • Howard Schultz has left the board of Starbucks but remains ‘chairman emeritus’. (CNBC)

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