☕️ Carbon coup

Jarden’s top talent loss is Marex’s Neon Carbon gain

July 30, 2024

Good morning.

An audacious raid by UK financial services upstart Marex on Kiwi investment bank Jarden's lucrative carbon trading business has the industry buzzing.

Capital Brief’s Jack Derwin reports that Nasdaq-listed Marex has poached Jarden’s Nigel Brunel, aka Mr Carbon, to lead its new regional operation, Neon Carbon.

Brunel is not alone; he’s joined by a cadre of Jarden’s top talent, including former commodities head Michael Peters. The bold move is viewed as a strategic play to capture a significant share of a rapidly growing market that far exceeds Australia’s per capita trading volume.

We’ll be watching closely to see how Jarden responds to this challenge and the fluid market dynamics that follow.

ASX as at market close. Commodities and crypto in USD.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Viva Energy’s stock surged 4.18% as investors cheered a fuel sales boost, with 8,277 million litres sold in the first half. While retail tanks ran low, commercial and industrial sales roared with an 8.7% jump.

The quick sync

  • OpenAI enlisted local lobbyist Bourke Street Advisory amid increased scrutiny of AI by the ACCC and the Attorney-General’s office. (Capital Brief)

  • Nine CEO Mike Sneesby returns to Australia after strike action hamstrung the company’s Paris Olympics coverage and on Monday scuppered plans to host ministers and regulators at a Canberra summit. (Capital Brief)

  • Melbourne startup InvestorHub closes $9m extended Series A, led by EVP, with follow-on investment from Archangel Ventures and Flying Fox Ventures. (Capital Brief)

  • Boman Group, a Melbourne-based fund manager for wealthy Chinese investors has plans for a $100m fund-of-funds by the end of the year. (AFR)

  • Marketing tech company IntelligenceBank used funds raised from PE backer Five Elms Capital to make its first buyout, acquiring AI-based compliance platform maker Red Marker from professional education giant Kaplan. (AFR)

  • CapCut, a video-editing app owned by Chinese tech powerhouse ByteDance, is rapidly gaining steam, threatening to lure users away from Adobe and Canva. (Bloomberg)

Trading floor

M&A

  • Pacific Smiles is assessing Genesis Capital's revised bid but still recommends NDC BidCo's earlier proposal. (Capital Brief)

  • Melbourne start-up IntelligenceBank has acquired AI compliance software firm Red Marker with funds from its US private equity backer Five Elms Capital, marking its first buyout. (AFR)

  • IFM, Pacific Equity Partners, and TPG Capital are set to advance to the next round for Healius's Lumus Imaging unit sale. (The Australian)

  • Boss Energy withdrew its takeover bid for Energy Resources of Australia after the NT government rejected the Jabiluka mining lease renewal. (Capital Brief)

  • Pacific Equity Partners has submitted a bid for the $1bn-plus Guardian Childcare and Education sale, managed by Morgan Stanley, attracting mostly financial sponsors. (AFR)

  • AD1 Holdings will acquire Melbourne agency Oliver Grace for $2m, with its founders joining AD1's executive team. (BNA)

  • Fletcher Building’s Tradelink sale, aimed at countering a share price drop, has attracted two final bidders, including secretive US billionaires. (AFR)

  • An undisclosed vendor sold $1.9bn in Fortescue Metals shares via JPMorgan, continuing a recent sell-off. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

  • BMYG rebrands as Boman Group, launches a new fund of funds, and appoints a new advisory board. (Capital Brief)

  • Lark Distilling plans a major cash call with Barrenjoey Capital, following a 31.4% drop in its share price to 86¢. (AFR)

  • Regional Express Holdings halted ASX trading after a report that it appointed Deloitte's restructuring services following the departure of its executive chair. (Capital Brief)

  • Deep Yellow's shares rose following progress on its Tumas uranium project, including financing with Nedbank and starting product marketing. (Capital Brief)

VC

  • InvestorHub raised $4m in extension funding, reaching a total of $9m for its Series A round. (Capital Brief)

  • Monty Compost raised $1m to scale its waste-tracking technology from consumer to industrial use, following years of R&D. (BNA)

  • Sindy Labs, a startup monitoring student engagement, joined UC Berkeley's SkyDeck accelerator and secured $200,000. (Startup Daily)

People moves

  • NIB Holdings CEO Mark Fitzgibbon will retire on September 1, with Ed Close, the head of ARHI, succeeding him. (Capital Brief)

  • Jonas Troeber will be JPMorgan’s sole head of equity capital markets in Australia, replacing co-head Simone Haslinger. (AFR)

  • Adore Beauty appoints Sacha Laing as CEO, succeeding Tamalin Morton, who will continue as a consultant. (Capital Brief)

☝️ Know about a deal or people move we don’t? Hit reply.

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