☕️CBA Crusader

Good morning.

As Capital Brief this week revealed, the Commonwealth Bank spent weeks revising a confidential letter to RBA governor Michelle Bullock – expressing “deep concern” over some of the proposals in the central bank's payments review. Unfortunately, it found itself all alone in its crusade.

A source with direct knowledge of the situation told Capital Brief that CBA failed to rally its big four rivals and other key financial services players to join its campaign against the key payment reforms proposed by the reserve bank.

CBA fired off the letter itself on Tuesday despite a cool response from rivals and the industry's peak lobby group, who all declined to endorse it.

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Market movers

Shares in James Hardie crashed on Wednesday after a 60% profit drop and downgraded FY26 guidance spooked investors, triggering speculation it may be forced to raise capital if US sales weaken further. Meanwhile shares in HMC Capital rebounded over 17% as Morgans lifted its rating to buy.

The quick sync

• Victoria’s startups are booming, but momentum could vanish fast if government pulls back funding, writes Brigitte Smith. (Capital Brief)

• The NRF must think big and embrace risk to deliver on its mission of building a stronger, more resilient Australian economy, writes Tim Ayres. (Capital Brief)

• CSL’s shake-up is a stress test of whether Australia has the depth of scaled firms needed to keep capability onshore, writes Anthony Liveris. (Capital Brief)

• Day 2 of Jim Chalmers’ reform summit delivered consensus on housing and permits. The real test comes when Albanese decides what sticks. (Capital Brief)

• Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation appeal unravelled as his lawyer admitted he is seen as a national joke and “the most hated man in Australia”. (Capital Brief)

• Winklevoss twins donate US$21m in Bitcoin to Trump-aligned PAC as Gemini pushes IPO and crypto policy gains momentum. (Bloomberg)

Trading floor

M&A

• Salter Brothers buys Causeway to grow into corporate lending. (AFR)

• TPG buys Lynch Group for $280m in latest take-private move. (AFR)

• KKR exits La Trobe sale race; Warburg Pincus leads bidders. (The Australian)

• L1 to merge funds with Platinum; job cuts ahead. (AFR)

• Thoma Bravo eyes US$11b buyout of HR tech firm Dayforce. (Capital Brief)

• Canaccord to acquire Wilsons Advisory. (AFR)

• Peabody scraps $5.9b Anglo coal deal after mine fire. (AFR)

• Service Stream in talks to buy UGL’s $1b transport unit. (The Australian)

• Lew family expands Myer presence with 136 homeware areas. (AFR)

• Ryan Stokes shows little buy-in at Seven West Media. (AFR)

• Billionaire Greg Goodman will put his stamp on Western Sydney’s new airport precinct. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• Fletcher Building loss deepens to NZ$419m on weak demand and one-offs. (Capital Brief)

• APA profit down to $129m, but earnings meet guidance and distributions rise. (Capital Brief)

• Transurban profit plunges 69%, but toll revenue rises and dividend increases. (Capital Brief)

• Amaero launches $50m discounted share placement. (AFR)

• Iluka profit drops 31% on weak mineral sands demand, dividend cut. (Capital Brief)

• Cleanaway profit up 16%, dividend rises 20% to 6c. (Capital Brief)

• Lottery Corp profit down 12%, dividend up 3% to 16.5c. (Capital Brief)

• Spark NZ profit down 18% to NZ$260m, dividend 25c per share. (Capital Brief)

• Stockland profit jumps 171% to $826m, dividend lifted. (Capital Brief)

• Foresight renewables fund refinances $700m debt. (AFR)

• Breville profit up 15% to $136m, dividend lifted. (Capital Brief)

• Dexus posts $136m profit, distributions down. (Capital Brief)

• Kogan.com writes off $46m from weak Mighty Ape deal. (Startup Daily)

• Vicinity profit doubles to $1b, lifts payout. (Capital Brief)

• Bendigo Bank books $540m impairment, profit hit. (Capital Brief)

• One Stop Warehouse secures $8.5m for expansion. (AFR)

• Superloop posts $1.2m profit on NBN growth. (Capital Brief)

• Magellan profit drops 31%, but pays special dividend amid new policy. (Capital Brief)

• Perpetual books $154m impairment on JO Hambro outflows. (Capital Brief)

• Affinity considers IPO for Scottish Pacific after failed $1bn sale. (The Australian)

• CSL’s major cuts and vaccine spin-off reveal risks in Australia’s dependence on a few advanced industry leaders. (Capital Brief)

• Aventuur wins RAC backing to start building Perth Surf Park in 2025. (Capital Brief)

• Regal Partners raising $94m for NSW coal mine royalties. (AFR)

• Lederer challenges Elanor’s ECF strategy, warning of Rockworth’s influence and proposing major fund changes under its takeover. (Capital Brief)

• ABC pay talks spark dispute over proposed “impartiality” clause. (Capital Brief)

• Roundtable backs housing supply boost via regulation cuts and code pause. (Capital Brief)

• Xero investors challenge CEO’s $23.5m pay deal. (AFR)

• JP Morgan, MUFG back US$22b loan for Vantage’s Texas AI data campus. (Capital Brief) (Bloomberg)

• CBA reverses AI-driven redundancies after conceding it still needs humans to meet growing workloads. (AFR)

• ABC staff see ‘impartiality’ clause in pay deal talks as a gag on staff after Lattouf ruling. (Capital Brief)

• The image of BHP and Rio Tinto chiefs beside Donald Trump captures a global business shift from ESG ideals to raw industrial power, with copper at its core. (Capital Brief)

• An AI night at Canva HQ revealed both the technology’s potential and its perils, echoing the high-stakes questions confronting the Albanese government. (Capital Brief)

• Elon Musk to drop ‘America Party’ to focus on his companies and support DJ Vance instead. (WSJ)

• Lowe's to buy Foundation Building Materials for US$8.8b to boost contractor business (Reuters)

• Rare earths ‘floor price’ will lift all boats: Iluka. (AFR)

• Jim Chalmers considers super fund performance test changes. (AFR)

• Citigroup’s wealth boss Andy Sieg faced a probe into expletive-laced outbursts. (Bloomberg)

VC 

• Startmate backs 13 bold startups in health, AI, and VR. (Startup Daily)

• Canva hits $65b valuation in employee share sale ahead of IPO. (Capital Brief)(AFR)(The Australian)

People moves

• Phil King exits VG1 management after $28m loss; Paul Moore steps in. (Capital Brief)

• Pet Circle names Alastair Venn CEO as founder shifts to chairman. (AFR)

• Target stock slumps after retailer names insider Fiddelke to CEO role. (Reuters)

The watercooler